Shinobi no Kami
by Darth Wartriarr
Summary: Trained from a young age by Jiraiya of the Sannin, Naruto grows up with the training he deserves. Rising up from nothing but a simple orphan boy, he becomes a legend greater than anyone else. Smarter/Godlike/Sharingan Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

**Shinobi no Kami**

 **Chapter 1**

"Normal speech."

 _'Normal thought.'_

 _"Jutsu."_

 **"Demon speech/translations."**

 ** _'Demon thought.'_**

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked with saddened eyes at the young by sat on the hospital bed. The boy himself was young, barely five years old, yet he had cold and indifferent eyes that did not belong to a child of his age. The boy had shaggy blonde hair, slightly tanned skin, shining cerulean blue eyes and three whisker marks on each cheek. His name; Naruto Uzumaki, on of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

Naruto was no normal child, not only because he is the last known Uzumaki and the son of the Yondaime Hokage. But because he is the Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi no Yoko. The strongest of **Bijū (Tailed Beasts).** A creature of such great power that it could reduce mountains to rubble and cause tsunamis with a single flick of its tail. And yet, this boy was the single thing stopping this creature from laying waste to Konohagakure.

One would expect the inhabitants of this village to praise the child for been a hero, for holding this creature at bay.

The do not.

Ever since the child was born on October 10th, he had foolishly told the Civilian and Shinobi council of what the boy held. Instead of seeing the child as a hero. They hated him. The Shinobi clans ignored his existence, while the civilian council had sent in total thirty assassins after the boy. Ten of which had nearly succeeded had it not been the timely intervention of the ANBU and the medics. Then there was the fact that every October 10th, a group of drunken civilians and shinobi would hunt down and attack the boy.

This night was no different. While a child would normally spend their birthday surrounded by family and enjoying the day to its fullest. Naruto had instead barricaded himself inside his apartment away from the mob of villagers outside. It had done nothing as they got inside and began to beat him.

The ANBU team that had been placed to protect the boy from such attacks had not intervened.

Thankfully, one ANBU operative intervened. Naruto's single most protective ANBU, Inu. This ANBU operative was also known as Kakashi Hatake, the Yondaime Hokage's only living student. Kakashi had always looked up to Minato as a father after his real father's suicide, so it was only natural that he would look at Naruto as a little brother.

Sensing someone appear behind him, he knew exactly who it was.

"How is he Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked. Hiruzen spared the ANBU a look and saw that he had forgone his mask.

"We can thank the boys tenant for his current survival." Kakashi winced and Hiruzen knew that the young man must have felt guilty for his inability. "Do not blame yourself Kakashi-kun. You did all you could." He placed a hand on the man's shoulder to calm his trembling body.

"It's not fair." Kakashi finally said after calming down. "It's not fair. Naruto never asked for the Kyuubi to be sealed inside of him, nor would Minato-sensei put the Kyuubi inside of his own son unless there was no other choice. And yet, the villagers praise Minato-sensei as a saviour, but nearly kill his son!"

"Life is not fair, Kakashi-kun. We must accept that." Hiruzen said. "Now, I believe it's time we say hello to young Naruto." Kakashi nodded his head and the two entered.

As soon as the door opened, Naruto's head look towards his two new visitors and smiled upon seeing them. It was heart-warming to see such an innocent ad happy smile displayed on the face of a boy who suffered so much.

"Hello Naruto-kun." The Sandaime greeted.

"Hello Jiji." Naruto replied before he looked towards Kakashi. "Hello Kakashi-nii." Despite his earlier anger, Kakashi smiled at the greeting he received. It released him from some of the guilt he felt at not been able to save Naruto in time.

"Hello Otouto." If anything, the boys smile grew wider at what Kakashi called him.

"How are you feeling?" Hiruzen asked, Naruto's smile dimmed and became slightly strained.

"I'm fine Jiji!" Naruto said boisterously. To any other person, it might have seem convincing. However, Kakashi and Hiruzen were the two top shinobi's that Konoha had to offer so they easily picked on the sadness been hidden away.

"It's okay Otouto. You can tell us how you really feel." Kakashi stood beside Naruto and placed a hand on the boys shoulder. Instantly he felt how skinny the young Uzumaki was and had to restrain himself from getting angry. By the way that Hiruzen looked at him, the elderly Kage must have known what Kakashi was angry about.

Naruto's smile dropped after Kakashi's words and was replaced by a look of sadness and dejectedness. It was unsettling to see.

"I don't get it, why they hate me. It hurts so much, and yet." Naruto's voice was low and quiet. "I can't hate them. I want too, I really want too. But no matter how much I try, I can't."

"Don't hate them Naruto-kun. Pity them." Naruto looked up towards the Sandaime in shock. "Hate will forever cloud your judgement. It will stop you from being who you should be." Hesitantly, Naruto nodded his head.

"I'll try Jiji." Hiruzen smiled.

"That's all I can ask." He stood up from the chair he was sat on. "Now, we will leave you to rest." Naruto nodded his head and laid down on the bed once more.

The two shinobi disappeared in a quick _Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)_ and appeared in the Hokage office. There was a few moments of silence as Hiruzen sat on the chair behind his desk and Kakashi placed his dog mask back on.

"Did you ID any of the attackers?" Kakashi nodded his head and placed a scroll on the desk. Hiruzen reached forward and took hold of the scroll and began reading through it. Once he had done he placed the scroll back on the table. "I want them taken to Ibiki for questioning." Kakashi nodded his head before disappearing in a _Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)_ _._ "You can come out now Jiraiya-kun."

There was a flicker in the corner of the room and it revealed a slightly aged man with spiky white hair pulled back into a ponytail with a wart on the side of his nose. He had a green, short shirt kimono and matching pants under which he wore a mesh armour that was revealed at his wrists and ankles. He wore handguards, a black belt, traditional Japanese sandals and a red haori with two yellow circles on it.

"How do you keep on finding me?!" Jiraiya exclaimed causing the Sandaime too chuckle in amusment.

"How much do you know Jiraiya?" He asked and Jiraiya became serious. His eyes becoming colder and more serious, once again he was forced to remember that despite his childishness, Jiraiya was a true shinobi.

"Everything. The assassinations, the beatings." Jiraiya paused, allowing himself to gain control of his anger. "Why didn't you call for me sensei?" There was a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Konoha needed you to keep track of the spy network." Hiruzen explained. Jiraiya snarled and slammed his fist on the table. Behind him, the Sandaime's ANBU guard appeared around Jiraiya, their swords drawn and pointed at Jiraiya's valuable organs.

"Bullshit!" They disappeared back into the shadows from a single hand gesture from the Hokage as Hiruzen stared into Jiraiya's anger filled gaze. "He is my godson and it is my duty to look after him!"

"I know, I know. But Konoha needed you watching her enemies." Jiraiya stood back up, calmer than he was before, but still brimming with anger. "Today however, I believe that Naruto should be raised outside of the village." Hope filled Jiraiya, perhaps he could finally raise his Godson.

"Does that mean?"

"Yes. You can raise Naruto-kun, train him, and make him the best damn shinobi that this world has ever seen." Hiruzen said and Jiraiya nodded his head smiling brightly while he did so. "He's in room nine."

"Thanks sensei." He said sincerely before disappearing with a _Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)._ Hiruzen looked at the position where Jiraiya once stood. Already he could feel a change in the air, Naruto would play a large part in the future to come.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

It had been an hour since he arrived at the hospital. Naruto had been asleep the entire time and Jiraiya for the first time in a while, got to see how much Naruto resembled his father, but he could still see parts of Kushina in him. It made him smile brightly at the thought of raising the child of the two people he considered his children.

Outside the sun was just beginning to raise as morning began to come around. However, a groan from the hospital bed stopped him from doing so. Looking up he saw, Naruto rubbing his eyes to help wake them up, while looking around.

Once Naruto's gaze settled on Jiraiya, at regarded him curiously, but in a guarded fashion.

"Hello." Naruto started, his voice was just as guarded as his eyes.

"Hi." Jiraiya stood up and immediately took note of how his godson tensed in preparation of an attack. He would have found it impressive as not many Genin or Chūnin had instincts like that, but it was his five year old godson had instincts that were only gained by been constantly attacked. "I'm Jiraiya." He decided to forgo his usual intro, knowing that doing so wasn't very smart at this time.

"Who?" Jiraiya would have found that insulting however, Naruto wasn't the academy and therefore wouldn't have learnt about Konoha's history of legendary shinobi.

"Jiraiya of the three Sannin. I'm one of Konoha's top shinobi." He took great joy in watching Naruto's eyes alight with joy.

"Really!" Naruto exclaimed. "How strong are you...?" There were multiple questions that were asked to him in rapid fire. "Wait; why are you here to see me?" There was something in his voice that Jiraiya didn't like; dejectedness.

"Well, this might come as a shock to you. But, I'm your godfather." There was a few moments of tense silence, in which Naruto stared at his newly revealed godfather in shock.

"You're…my godfather." He said hesitantly and Jiraiya nodded his head.

"Yes, I'm really sorry for not been here to raise." Naruto simply sat there staring at him. "I wanted to raise you, but after the Kyuubi attacked Konoha we were in a weak position. I'm Konoha's spymaster and I had to watch what our enemies were doing. However, I've been allowed to finally to take you as my apprentice and truly be the godfather you need."

Once again silence reigned.

"You mean it." Naruto asked hopefully.

"I mean it kid." Jiraiya reassured and both shared a smile. "The doctors said that you will be allowed to leave today, I'm going to get some stuff then sign you out and then were going to leave Konoha for a while." Nodding his head happily, Naruto watched his godfather leave before giving a shout of joy once he had left.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

After collecting Naruto from the hospital, Jiraiya and his godson had quickly moved through the town before any of the civilians woke up. They then headed over to a shop called 'Higurashi's Weapon Shop.' Naruto had never come here as he had been constantly kicked out of shops before and had not wanted to be kicked out of another one.

Entering the shop, Naruto looked around at the multitude of weapons lining the walls. Spears, axes, swords, kunai, shuriken and mutliple other different weapons.

Jiraiya watched him with a smile before turning to the large and muscular figure that had just entered from the backdoor.

"Hello Jiraiya-sama." The man said.

"Hello Tatsuhiko, how's business?" Jiraiya studied the man, despite having developing a friendship of sorts, that wouldn't stop him from killing the man if he so much as looked at his godson in a way he didn't like.

"Business is good. Is that?" Jiraiya nodded his head stiffly, something which Tatsuhiko took note of. "Don't worry. I've got nothing against the kid, been working with too many kunai and scrolls to know the difference between the two." Jiraiya nodded his head. "So what can I do for you?"

"Need a hundred chakra conducting kunai and shuriken."

"Well you're in luck." Tatsuhiko picked up a box and placed it on the counter. He turned it around and opened it up revealing the required amount of kunai and shuriken. "Just made these last week."

"Tatsuhiko old friend. You are a godsend." Tatsuhiko chucked in amusment. "How much is that?"

"Ten thousand ryo." Nodding his head Jiraiya handed over the required amount of money.

"Clothes still in the back?" Tatsuhiko nodded his head and Jiraiya walked over to his godson. "Hey Naruto." Showing his godson the box, he allowed Naruto to take it. He watched the boy look at him in awe and happiness. "Go on then. Open it." Naruto did just that and opened the box revealing.

"Wow." He hugged Jiraiya in thank and while shocked, Jiraiya returned the hug. "Thank you."

"You want to be Hokage don't you?" Naruto nodded his head. "Well, if you're gonna be Hokage you're going to need these." Naruto once again nodded his head. "Now, let's get you some clothes."

With that, the two walked towards the clothes section and bought Naruto around four pairs of the same clothes. Black shinobi sandals, ANBU pants, a grey, long-sleeved hoodie with a full body mesh armour. Overall, the shopping trip cost him around twenty thousand ryo, but seeing his godson smiling made it worth it.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Kakashi watched Naruto leave with Jiraiya for god knows how long. While it was saddening to watch, he knew that it was for the best and he also knew that he would see Naruto again. Whether it be in Konoha or on a mission.

Turning back towards the village, he looked at the civilians that were completely oblivious to what had happened. Kakashi knew that if the civilians and shinobi had known, they would have celebrated. Clenching his fists, Kakashi vowed to himself to always be there to protect Naruto.

With that in mind he walked towards Training Ground 10 where he knew Maito Gai, his self-proclaimed rival would be training himself into the ground. He had calmed down in his training over the past weeks, it was about time he made up for lost time and then surpassed his previous level of strength.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Hiruzen sighed in anger as the paperwork miraculously multiplied before his very eyes. He really hated the seal he had placed there within his first year of been Hokage. Sure, it decreased the amount of stuff on his desk, but just as you thought you were nearly done, the seal would automatically release more paper until you were done. It had its pros and cons.

Hearing the door to his office open he saw his old teammate, Danzo Shimura walk into the room. His cane tapping against the ground. It had been a safety precaution the two had created to know if there was an imposter.

"What is this I hear about the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki leaving the village?" Danzo asked, his voice calm and quiet.

"I have decided that after the last attack on his person, his godfather, his _legal_ guardian should be given custody of him." Hiruzen stressed the word 'legal' to show Danzo he had no sway here. "Besides, I thought you would be happy. Naruto is getting the training he needs to become a powerful asset to the village, while been able to walk in the light. He will become a figurehead for the village to follow."

"The village hates him. They will not follow him." Danzo countered.

"Not yet they won't. Naruto will come back for the Chūnin exams and there I shall reveal his heritage. The village will forget what he holds and see him for the person he is."

"And if not everyone does?" Hiruzen's eyes became cold and indifferent, a small amount of his Killing Intent was released.

"Then I trust you to persuade, and silence those that do not if need be." Danzo nodded his head, happy to see that the **Shinobi no Kami (The God of Shinobi)** had replaced his grandfatherly teammate once more.

"It shall be done, Hiruzen." Bowing as much as his 'damaged' body would allow him, Danzo left the room.

 _'It seems you leaving, Naruto-kun. May be what Konoha needs to become a symbol of power once more.'_ Hiruzen thought.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

A week went by rather quickly in Naruto's opinion. They had done nothing but travelling, but during the time they would rest, Naruto would try and unlock his chakra. So far Naruto had managed to draw out a bit of his chakra, which according to Jiraiya was very impressive for a child his age as most children descending from Shinobi clans didn't get this far till they around three months had gone by.

"Are we there yet?" Naruto whined. Jiraiya, who walked alongside him simply shook his head in amusment.

"Nearly. In five, four, three, two and one." He outstretched the digits on his raised left hand before slowly lowering the number of digits until none remained. "Here we are." They exited out into a large clearing. Avery large clearing. At least ten acres of land.

Right on the north of the clearing was a large pond, easily covering two acres of land. Going into it from the cliff behind it was a waterfall. A few metres away was a small wooden hut, it was nothing special but it would suffice for the two of them. Everything else was just grassy flatland.

"Awesome!" Naruto shouted out in glee before rushing out into the clearing with a wide smile on his face. Jiraiya watched his godson for a few moments, happy to see the young boy had forgotten his previous trauma. After that he turned around and placed his hand on the ground, channelling some chakra into it he watched as multiple seals stretching out of the area glowed blue. Nodding his head he walked back towards the centre of the clearing to where his godson was laying on the ground looking at the sky.

"Do you like it?" Jiraiya asked while placing his scroll on the ground.

"Like it, I love it!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I'm glad. This is gonna be your home for a few years." Clapping his hands together, Jiraiya sat down in front of Naruto who had also sat up to stare at his sensei. "So we're gonna continue working on unlocking your chakra. Once that's done I'll teach you a jutsu."

"Really, what jutsu Jiraiya-sensei?" Both had agreed that revealing himself as Jiraiya's godson would be detrimental if any enemy shinobi found out.

"A jutsu that I believe only you could fully master, _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)_ _."_ Jiraiya smiled when he saw Naruto brimming with excitement. Looks like he had a way to properly motivate Naruto when the boy wasn't into doing something.

"Cool! Come on then Jiraiya-sensei, I want to learn that jutsu." With that Naruto willed himself to calm down, crossing his legs and placing his hand into the ram seal. Closing his eyes he breathed in and out deeply. He searched deep inside of his very being and only ever found darkness. Reaching further inside of him he found himself staring at a blue flame of complete chakra.

For a few moments nothing happened, before slowly it spread throughout his entire body. He felt a sense of weightlessness as chakra ran through his body.

"I did it!" Jiraiya laughed along with Naruto.

"Well done." He congratulated and Naruto beamed up at him. Standing up, He stared at the young Uzumaki who was staring at him inquisitively. "Now it's time to teach you the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)._ It only requires on hand seal and that's this." He crossed his fingers over each other. "Then simply channel your chakra and imagine a clone appear next to you."

Nodding his head, Naruto placed his fingers in the exact same position as Jiraiya did.

 _"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!"_ He shouted and there was a single poof of smoke. Once it subsided, it revealed an exact replica of Naruto. Both shared a glance before grinning identical grins. Jiraiya felt pride swell in him. It took him three hours to create even a single clone, but Naruto did it on his first try.

"Very good Naruto." The clone disappeared leaving only the original stood there. "Just remember that if you summon too many, be careful on how many you dispel at a time. That's because when it dispels, anything they learned, you learn." The Uzumaki grinned wider and nodded his head in agreement.

"So what we doing now Jiraiya-sensei?"

"Well, I'm gonna teach you tree climbing and then tomorrow we'll make some clones and I'll make sure you have it down."

"I can already climb trees Jiraiya-sensei." The elderly shinobi smirked before walking towards a tree, Naruto following behind him. However, once he reached the tree Jiraiya continued to walk up it. When he reached the top, Jiraiya turned around and stared at the awe filled gaze of his young apprentice. Walking down the tree, he stood before Naruto with a grin.

"Can you climb them like that?" He asked and only received a slow shake of his head which made him chuckle in amusement. "To do this, all you need to do is channel chakra to your feet to help you stick to the surface. Here." He chucked a kunai at Naruto's feet. "Use that to mark your progress."

Picking up the kunai, Naruto ran at the tree as fast as he could and channelled chakra to his feet. As soon as his right foot collided with the bark, it exploded sending him flying backwards.

Thankfully, Jiraiya caught him before he could land painfully against the ground.

"You channelled too much chakra into your feet. Try not to channel as much into your feet next time." Jiraiya advised. Nodding his head, Naruto charged at the tree once more. This time however, he manage to get three steps up the tree before slipping.

Landing on the ground with a grunt, he glared at Jiraiya who had burst out laughing at his failure.

"Shut up!" He shouted earning more laughter as a result. Getting to his feet, Naruto charged at the tree again, and like the previous two times he fell. This time however, he managed to mark the tree with his kunai. Giving a shout of accomplishment, Naruto did it again. Behind him, Jiraiya looked on proudly as his godson began to make gradual progress. It was slow, but he had no doubt that by the end of the day he would get halfway up the tree if not higher.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Shisui Uchiha gave a sigh as he sheathed his Tantō after finishing his nights training session. Normally he would be accompanied by Itachi, his best friend and brother in all but blood. However, Itachi was currently attending a meeting with his father, Fugaku the Head of the Uchiha clan.

Just as he was about to deactivate his **Sharingan (Copy Wheel Eye)** he noticed a slight movement in a bush nearby. That was odd, there was wind and nothing else moved. Expanding his senses with chakra he immediately noticed that there was someone hiding there. They were very well hidden, but he was an ANBU, the elite of Konoha and therefore he could easily pick out the signs of someone hiding.

"You can come out now, I know you're there." Shisui called out.

There was a few moments of silence before a young boy, no older than nine. It was a shock to him to see someone so young had such skill in stealth. It was obvious the boy was trained extensively in the Shinobi Arts.

"Hi, are you lost?" He asked, though he had tensed in preparation from an assault made by the young boy. The boy himself noticed this and also tensed in preparation. "Not much of a talker, huh?" He questioned once more upon seeing the young boy not speaking. "At least tell me more your name. Mines Shisui Uchiha."

"Kimimaro Kaguya." The now named Kimimaro's voice was distinctly monotonous.

"Mind telling me why you're here?" Once again the boy did not reply, but his silence spoke more than he ever could. It was obvious Kimimaro was here to kill him. "Did Kiri send you, you don't wear their headband signifying your allegiance to them?"

"I don't work for those Kiri scum!" The boy said with a surprising amount of venom in his voice.

"Then who do you work for?" Shisui questioned further.

"My master told me to tell you 'that the snake hides in waiting until the correct moment to strike presents itself.' Prepare yourself, Shisui Uchiha." With that, Kimimaro shot forwards at great speeds.

Surprised by the speed that Kimimaro moved at, Shisui barely had enough time to leap backwards to avoid the bone sword that appeared from Kimimaro's wrist. His eyes widened in shock and Shisui rolled along the ground before using a quick _Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)_ to put some distance between the two of them.

 ** _'Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse)!'_** Shisui thought in shock. _'This fight just got a whole lot more difficult.'_ Kimimaro and Shisui stared at each other before the young Kaguya charged forward. Ready for the boy this time, Shisui ran through some hand seals quickly before taking a deep breath. _"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique)!"_ From Shisui's mouth a five large balls made entirely of fire shot towards the charging Kimimaro.

The young Kaguya reacted quickly and jumped through a small gap between three of them, his clothes slightly burnt as a result.

As soon as he landed he only saw Shisui form the tiger seal.

 _"Katon: Karyū Endan (Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)!"_ He felt heat building up behind him. Just as he looked behind him, he saw a large flaming dragon rise up and charge towards him. Jumping to the side Kimimaro dodged the attack and it caused the ground beneath his feet to become alight with flames. _"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)!"_

Looking towards his target, he saw three Shuriken multiply into three hundred.

 _"Yanagi no Mai (Dance of the Willow)!"_ Bones sprouted from his palms, elbows, knees and shoulders then he spun around madly. Each of the shuriken that came at him were parried and knocked into other shuriken. For a seconds the only sound that reverberated through the training ground was the sound of bone and metal colliding with each other.

Through it all, Shisui thought of a plan to help him defeat the Kaguya.

 _'This is not looking good. He's fast, durable, agile and there seems to be no limit to the areas in which he can create those bone weapons of his.'_ Seething at the way this was beginning to turn out. _'That and the fact I have barely a fifth of my chakra left. Dammit, the onetime I don't bring any solider pills and Itachi has a meeting is the onetime I get attacked. Looks like I'll have to call Itachi and stall for time.'_ Channelling chakra into his ANBU seal, he waited.

Kimimaro landed on the ground and charged straight towards Shisui who met his charge head on.

Shisui blocked the left hand bone blade, before ducking under the right hand one. A quick _Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)_ later and Shisui appeared behind Kimimaro. His blade cut through the air and then cut into Kimimaro's neck. To his surprise however, the blade didn't cut into the boy's neck like he had hoped. Instead it colliding with something very dense and hard.

Quickly placing his foot on the Kaguya's back he pushed off and flipped into the air and caught a glimpse of what he assumed to be an armour of bone underneath Kimimaro's skin.

Landing on the ground, Shisui charged forward taking advantage of the boy's current position of been off-balance and lashed out with a roundhouse kick. He then followed up with spinning hook kick to his temple.

Skidding across the ground, Kimimaro got to his feet quickly before hunching over in pain as a fist collided with his stomach. However, his ribcage burst from his body and locked the ANBU shinobi's fist in place. Smirking, Kimimaro punched Shisui in the face causing him to stumble backwards.

Using this, he allowed the power of his _Orochimaru's no Juinjutsu (Orochimaru's Cursed Seal Technique)_ to run through his body and cover his body in lines. Raising up to his full height, he regarded Shisui with an indifferent but slightly confident gaze.

 _'What the hell is that?'_ Shisui thought in shock. Whatever it was, Shisui knew that this fight wasn't going to be as equal as it was before this.

 _'To force me to use the first level of_ _Orochimaru's no Juinjutsu (Orochimaru's Cursed Seal Technique)_ _, you are truly skilled, Shisui Uchiha.'_ Kimimaro praised mentally. _'However, Orochimaru-sama has asked me to kill you. He cured me of my disease and I shall forever be loyal to him, for that reason I will not, cannot fail him.'_

 _"Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)."_ He whispered before disappearing and reappearing behind the Kaguya boy in hopes of repeating his earlier movement. This time however, the blade was stopped by a blade made of bones.

"The same attack won't work a second time round." Kimimaro said simply before performing a flawless spinning hook kick that Shisui only just managed to avoid due to his Sharingan predicting the attack. Landing on the ground, he went for a low sweep that the Kaguya managed to jump over.

The two young shinobi put some distance between one another.

 _'Come on Itachi, where the hell are you?!'_ The Uchiha raged mentally. _'Shit! I'm running low on chakra and I might have to rely on_ _Susanoo_ _soon with the way things are going.'_ Clenching his fists, Shisui charged forward, his Sharingan spinning hypnotically, Kimimaro met his charge and the two met in a clash of bone and steel.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Itachi rushed through the trees as quickly as his legs could possibly take him. Five minutes ago he had received an ANBU distress call from Shisui. He had quickly rushed from his house, leaving his parents unaware of what had caused him to leave in such a hurry.

Just as he leapt from one branch he felt a fluctuation of chakra before he heard.

 _"Fūtōn: Daitoppa (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)!"_ A large amount of wind collided with his body launching him from the air and straight towards the next tree. Drawing a kunai from his pouch he stabbed it into a tree and used it to slow him down before dropping to the ground.

Standing up to his full height, he waited calmly as five shinobi, each Chūnin level in terms of strength. Despite his calm façade, he was in fact frustrated because someone out there was causing his brother in all but blood lots of trouble. Enough to call for help, he couldn't remember a time when Shisui had called for help.

 _'Just wait for me a bit longer Shisui. I will be there soon.'_ Itachi thought. "You are in my way. I will give you the chance to move before I go through you." Itachi said monotonously. The five enemy shinobi shared a glance before staring at him with confidence.

"You think you can beat us." The one in the sneered. "There are five of us and only one of you."

"Numbers count for nothing in the Shinobi world." Itachi replied before the man that spoke drop to the ground unconscious with drool hanging from his mouth.

"Shit! Genjutsu, don't look at his eyes." One claimed as he closed his eyes and jumped backwards. Two others followed his lead but another was already stood completely still.

Appearing behind the man with a kunai in hand, he stabbed the kunai into his neck. _'Magen: Jubaku Satsu (Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death).'_ Itachi thought before turning to the remaining three shinobi. "Come."

Two did so and stabbed him in the stomach however, Itachi exploded consuming the two in flames.

"Gah!" One shouted as he jumped out of the flames clutching the stump that used to be his right hand. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know, but we can't lose here."

"You lost the moment you got in my way _Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)!"_ From the flames, hundreds of shuriken flew forwards and only the injured shinobi managed to leap out of the way in time. However, he took his eyes off his surroundings to instead watch as his comrade get riddled with shuriken. In doing so he didn't see the flash of silver until he saw Itachi land on the trunk behind his comrade. Slowly his head fell from his shoulders and landed separately to his body on the ground.

 _'I'm coming Shisui, just hold on.'_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Leaping backwards he avoided a fist from Kimimaro that was surrounded by spiked bones. Sometime during the fight, Kimimaro had sprouted bones on both his forearms and made the Kaguya's already formidable Taijutsu, even more dangerous.

He had long since lost his Tantō and was forced to constantly dodge Kimimaro's strikes. However, in this time he had managed to regain some of his chakra, enough to use _Susanoo_ , but he didn't have enough chakra to use a _Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique),_ or his chakra sensing abilities. This gave him a very steep disadvantage and was forced to use small bursts of chakra to avoid Kimimaro's attacks.

He was also forced to use his other senses to figure out where his help was. He knew from the sounds of combat that the ANBU who had received his distress call were been held up by other enemy shinobi.

Leaping backwards he avoided another jab and just as he landed in a crouch position, five ANBU shinobi appeared around him. Their Katana or Tantō drawn and each of them in their Kenjutsu stances. Smiling, Shisui rose to his feet and released a deep breath.

"About time you guys got here." Shisui replied jokingly with a smile on his face.

"We were held up by multiple missing ninja." Hawk answered gaining a nod of the head from Shisui.

"How did they even get in?"

"Crane has taken one of them to Ibiki. We will know who they work for soon." Kimimaro stood where he was calmly. Slowly dropping to his knees, it looked like he was surrendering. Shisui and the ANBU watched as he placed his hand on the ground.

"Shit! Ju-Gah!" Hawk shouted as they felt a huge influx of chakra from Kimimaro. Shisui just barely managed to get out of the way as the entire training ground sprouted huge bones that pierced through the bodies of the ANBU shinobi. He watched Kimimaro slowly rise to his feet and say one thing.

 _"Sawarbi no Mai (Dance of the Seedling Fern)."_ Then Kimimaro began to change even further.

He had a tail with four large bones sprouting from his back, his skin became dark in colour. Under his eyes were two black curved like markings and the same were his eyebrows used to be.

 _'What the hell is that?!'_ Shisui thought in shock. _'Whatever it is, his chakra just became more vile and disgusting, but it also became much larger. Dammit, if I can only get hold of one of the soldier pills in Hawk's or the others pouch.'_ Tensing his muscles he shot forward only for Kimimaro to appear in front of him, appearing from the bone directly in front of him.

 _"Tessenka no Mai: Hana (Dance of the Clematis: Flower)."_ His entire left hand was encased in a drill like weapon made entirely of bone. It was raised and pointed straight at him and due to his previous jump, he was unable to move out of the way and instead found himself impaled by the bone weapon.

With a scream of pain, Shisui lashed out with a kick to Kimimaro's stomach putting some distance between him and his opponent.

Landing on his back he clutched his stomach. Shakily, he raised his left hand and looked at the large hole in his stomach. It was bleeding heavily, he knew he wasn't going to last much longer unless he applied some medical chakra to the wound.

Looking up, he saw Kimimaro jumping towards him intent on finishing him off. Knowing that he didn't have the strength to move, he allowed his eyes to evolve even further, to the **Mangekyo Sharingan (Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye).** Channelling all his chakra into his eyes he shouted. _"Susanoo!"_

From his body, a large green warrior figure formed around him protectively. In the centre of his chest was a single glowing red tomoe.

Kimimaro slammed his drill weapon into the chest of the _Susanoo_ , it forced the warrior like figure to be pushed backwards. The Kaguya had to quickly leap backwards as one of _Susanoo's_ arms went to swat him away. Once he landed on the ground, Kimimaro moved his right hand around till it rested on his back.

 _"Tessenka no Mai: Tsuru (Dance of the Clematis: Vine)."_ The man's entire vertebrae was ripped from his body and formed a long sword.

Shisui raised his right arm which held a drill lance, fire formed into vortex. With a roar, Shisui thrust his right hand forward. Kimimaro stood tensed and waiting as the drill came closer and closer.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Itachi saw the top of Shisui's _Susanoo's_ and he knew that whoever was fighting Shisui had made his friend desperate. There was a loud explosion followed by a large plume of smoke and Itachi knew that he needed to get there quickly. Channelling chakra into his legs he pushed his body to the limit.

The sun was rising up into the air as morning was coming round. He needed to get there quickly.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

When Jiraiya woke up the next day he found that Naruto was already practising the tree climbing exercise. To his shock he found that Naruto was running from the top to the bottom as fast as he could. Last night when they had finished, Naruto had only been able to run just over half of the tree, now he could run the entire thing repeatedly.

"Oi, Naruto. Come down here." Jiraiya shouted as he walked towards the tree. Naruto quickly ran towards him and stopped before him. He had a huge smile on his face and once again was filled with envy of Naruto's stamina. Truly the boy's limitless stamina would be one thing that made Naruto a dangerous shinobi to face. If he couldn't defeat you in pure skill, but he could defeat them in a battle of attrition.

"Did you see that? I managed to do it Jiraiya-sensei." He said excitedly.

"I did Naruto, I'm proud of you." If anything, the Uzumaki's smile grew wider. "How long have you been out here?" Naruto adopted confused look.

"It was only just getting light." Naruto said much to his shock. Judging by the position of the sun, he would say it's around nine in the morning. That meant he had been out here for around three hours.

"That's impressive Naruto. Now, before we begin working again let's get something to eat." Nodding his head, Naruto and Jiraiya had a quick but healthy and nutritional breakfast before walking out into the centre of the flatland.

"So what we gonna do today sensei?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Well, I want you to make as many clones as you can." Nodding his head, Naruto crossed his fingers together and channelled as much chakra as he could.

 _"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!"_ He shouted and there were mutliple poofs of smoke and when it subsided there were at least a hundred copies of Naruto. Shaking his head in amazement Jiraiya gave a proud smile.

 _'Amazing. Makes me wonder how much chakra he really has.'_ Jiraiya thought. Four copies himself appeared in a cloud of smoke. Each of the clones took a group of twenty-five of Naruto's clones and took them to different areas in the clearing. "So what we're going to do is start with a few exercises. So, you better get running around the clearing." Naruto quickly did so and began running around the clearing. Jiraiya was following behind him. Around three-quarter of the way round the clearing, Naruto began to slow down but Jiraiya would throw a kunai at his feet forcing him to increase his speed once more.

Coming to a stop, Naruto collapsed to his knees breathing heavily. Despite his large amount of stamina, he was only five years old.

"We're not done yet Naruto. Now give me fifty push ups, fifty sit ups and fifty squats." Naruto panted and glared at Jiraiya before pushing himself into a kneeling position.

"Can't I rest for a minute?" Jiraiya shook his head.

"You want to be the best shinobi in the Elemental Nations? You want to be Hokage?" Jiraiya questioned giving a nod of his head. "Then get to it." Groaning he began to do the exercises.

Over with the first Jiraiya clone, he was having them continue the tree climbing exercises until they could do it without conscious thought or much effort. With the second clone, he was beginning to teach the water walking exercise to Naruto's clones. With the third he was teaching leaf balancing exercise and with the fourth he was making sure that Naruto's clones could use the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)_ without hand seals or speaking.

All the while, Jiraiya watched his new apprentice/godson train with a proud smile on his face.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Breathing deeply, Shisui stood inside the safety of his _Susanoo_ as he waited for the smoke to clear. Once it did, he found his body freeze in shock. That was because Kimimaro was completely unharmed, his _Susanoo_ drill weapon had been knocked to the side. The Kaguya's spine weapon was wrapped around it like a whip.

 _'How, I put three quarters of my remaining chakra into that strike, even though I hardly have any no one should be able to stop that!'_ Growling angrily, Shisui channelled his remaining chakra into one final attack. If this didn't work, he would be without _Susanoo_ and completely open to an attack. _"Susanoo: Tsukumo (He with the ability to help by all means: Ninety-Nine)!"_

The ribcage opened revealing his _Susanoo's_ chest. From it a barrage of light, green-coloured chakra needles were launched at great speeds towards Kimimaro. Once again smoke rose up into that air as a result was launched into the air.

Dropping to his knees as his _Susanoo_ receded into nothing, Shisui waited for the smoke to clear again.

 _"Teshi Sendan (Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets)!"_ Gasping in shock as multiple tiny projectiles were flying towards him. Unable to move he took each of the bullets and he felt one pierce his lungs.

Kimimaro moved forward calmly and self-assured in his victory. However, before he could reach the downed form of Shisui, Itachi appeared in front of him. His eyes were indifferent, giving away nothing about his thoughts and feelings. The tomoes of his Sharingan swirled around his pupil hypnotically.

Kimimaro looked down at the floor avoiding eye contact with the Uchiha.

 _'I had not expected Itachi Uchiha to deal with the missing ninja that Orochimaru-sama had hired so quickly. It seems our Intel on his abilities is lacking.'_ Raising his eyes slightly, he looked at the bleeding form of Shisui. _'None the less, it seems my mission was a success. Shisui will die long before he gets to the hospital and he has lost far too much blood. Even if he does survive, he will be handicapped severely. However, I could probably match Itachi if I had not wasted half of my chakra fighting Shisui. Not only that but I can sense multiple Jōnin-level shinobi moving towards our position. A tactical retreat is in order.'_

Itachi watched with narrowed eyes as Kimimaro disappeared with a quick _Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)._ Once he was sure that the Kaguya had disappeared from his senses he turned to face his dying friend.

"Hey Itachi." Shisui smiled, but it was an ugly sight as his teeth were stained red with blood. "Took you long enough." Itachi allowed a rare smile, Shisui was the only person who could ever make him smile.

"Save your breath. I'm going to get you some help." Shisui simply shook his head in disagreement.

"No, I won't make it in time. I need you to do something for me." Itachi nodded his head, his eyes slightly glistening at seeing his best and only friend dying before him. "Take my eyes, give them to Naruto-kun. Telling him I'm sorry for breaking my promise."

 ** _Flashback._**

 _"Hey, Itachi-nii, Shisui-nii." The two ANBU shinobi in question stopped their training to see Naruto running towards them. Shisui smiled brightly._

 _"Hello, there little man." Shisui bent down and high-fived Naruto. "What brings you here?"_

 _"He's come to say goodbye to those close to him before we go." A voice said from behind them all. Shisui and Itachi turned around to see Jiraiya stood there._

 _"Jiraiya-sama." The two shinobi bowed to him as a sign of respect to the legendary shinobi._

 _"Meh, no need for honorifics. You two have looked after Naruto when I couldn't, you've more than earned the right to call me just Jiraiya." The two shinobi nodded their head as thanks._

 _"Hey, I'm still here remember!" Naruto shouted indignantly causing the three older men to chuckle in amusment, which in turn caused him to pout._

 _"Sorry." Shisui said. "So how come your going with Jiraiya?"_

 _"He's gonna teach me! I'm gonna become so strong that I'll be able to beat you both!" Itachi smiled, while Shisui laughed boisterously._

 _"I'll hold you too that, Naruto-kun." Itachi replied to Naruto's boasting._

 _"I'll tell you what little man. When you get back I will be the first to meet you and then we'll go and have that spar. If you impress me I'll teach you every jutsu I know." Shisui said._

 _"You promise?" Naruto asked._

 _"It's a promise of a lifetime." Shisui confirmed and then Naruto hugged him tightly. Chuckling, Shisui returned the hug._

 _"I'll miss you, Shisui-nii, Itachi-nii." Naruto whispered. Naruto pulled away revealing a few tears streaming down his face._

 _"God little man, you're making me cry." Shisui said, and his eyes were slightly watery. "Don't mind this miserable git, he will miss you despite what he might say or look like." Naruto nodded his head._

 _"Come on Naruto, we got a go." Nodding his head rapidly, Naruto left with Jiraiya._

 ** _Flashback end._**

Itachi nodded his head and shakily reached forward and plucked out his friend's eyes. It tore at his heart when he heard Shisui scream in pain, but he continued to do so. Once it was done, Itachi sealed the eyes away, while Shisui moved himself into a seated position. Itachi went forward to push him back down, but Shisui stopped him.

"No, help me stand up." Hesitantly, Itachi nodded his head and helped stand Shisui up. The older Uchiha had to lean dependently on the younger Uchiha. "I need you to kill me, I want it to be by your hand. It'll help you unlock the next stage of the Sharingan. Please."

"I will do." Pulling a kunai from his pouch, Itachi thrust it through Shisui's ribcage and pierced his heart. The dying Uchiha gasped in pain as blood spilled out from his mouth. Not once did his smile disappear. Gently, Itachi placed him on the ground and watched his friends breathing slow down. His Sharingan slowly changed into three spiralling curves around the purple.

 _'Looks like I'm going to see you sooner than I expected, Tou-san, Kaa-chan, Obito-nii.'_ Smiling as the faces of his deceased family passed through his mind, he released his last breath.

Clenching his fist, Itachi raced back to Konoha with Shisui on his back. Intent on finding out who sent the child that killed his best friend.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Hiruzen looked at the missing ninja currently sat in one of the interrogation rooms. The man was bloodied and beaten after the interrogation he had suffered at the hands of Konoha's greatest interrogation specialist, Ibiki Morino.

Itachi appeared beside the aged Hokage without any sound.

"What did you find out, Hokage-sama?" Itachi asked. Sparing the young ANBU a glance, he could see the desire for revenge. Despite his love for the village, Itachi was still an Uchiha and carried the Curse of Hatred.

"It seems my old student, Orochimaru was the one who organised this." Nodding his head stiffly, Itachi looked at the man with his Sharingan glowing ominously.

"Hokage-sama." The Sandaime looked towards Itachi to see him on his knees before him. "Before Shisui died, he told me to take his eyes and give them to Naruto-kun as a gift. I would like permission to give them to Naruto-kun like Shisui asked." Hiruzen hummed in thought before nodding his head.

"Go. They're location is…" He whispered the remaining part so that no one would know where Jiraiya and Naruto were currently located.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Itachi used a quick _Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)_ and disappeared. Turning to Ibiki, he gave him the signal to kill the missing ninja, Ibiki nodded his head and entered the room quickly. He didn't need to hear the ninja speak to know he was begging for his life. Ibiki paid the man no heed and slit his throat before leaving.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

A week had gone by since Naruto and Jiraiya had begun training and in that time progression had been quite quick, having also built up a routine. Every morning they would wake up and review what they had learned the previous day to see how far he could get. After that they would have breakfast and Jiraiya would think on what, Naruto's training would consist of for the day.

So far Naruto had completed the tree climbing exercise and the leaf balancing exercise, the two easiest chakra control exercises. Not only that, but Naruto had managed to learn how to use the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)_ without hand seals and had doubled the amount of clones he could create.

Currently, Naruto had finished his daily run, which had increased too three times round the training ground. Now, he was currently performing his exercises which had were now a hundred of each exercise. He had fifty clones perfecting water walking, while the three other groups were doing a different exercise. The group that had once been doing leaf balancing exercise, were now doing kunai balancing.

As for the group that had been doing tree walking, they were now learning and mastering the _Bunshin Daibakuha (Clone Great Explosion),_ while the final group were learning to use kunai and shuriken. So far he could hit three out of ten for the shuriken and four out of ten for the kunai.

"Done!" Naruto exclaimed with a thin shine of sweat covering his body.

"Looks like we're going to have to up your exercises because you're not as tired as I'd hoped." Naruto simply grinned brightly. _'Kids stamina and the Kyuubi healing him gives him a huge advantage. You really are gonna go far.'_ He thought with pride. "Show me your stance."

Naruto sunk into simple fighting stance. Side on with his left leg at the front and his right foot at the back. His right hand was raised up to his chin with his left hand bent downwards so his hand was near his left hip.

Moving forwards, Jiraiya pulled Naruto's left elbow out some more while also widening the gap between his legs.

Looking towards the edge of the clearing, he formed a **Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone)** that looked over Naruto's training in the _Todorokiryuu (Roaring Dragon)_ style, a style designed by the Uzumaki clan. It implemented both grappling, elbows, knees, defensive, offensive and counter-offensive techniques. It was one of the most dangerous fighting styles to ever exist in the Elemental Nations.

As he walked towards the edge of the Fuinjutsu barrier he set up, he placed his hand on the ground and two seals glowed blue. Slowly the area in front of him shimmered revealing Itachi Uchiha.

"Come on in." Itachi did so. "So what brings you here Itachi?"

"A week ago, an unknown Kaguya clan member working for Orochimaru infiltrated Konoha and killed Shisui." Jiraiya looked towards the original Naruto to see him currently been corrected on his next move in the _Todorokiryuu (Roaring Dragon)_ fighting style.

"I see. Is that everything you need?" Itachi shook his head and unsealed a small jar filled with water. Inside of them were two eyes, two Sharingan eyes. "Are those?

"Yes, Shisui gave me his eyes before he died. His wish was for Naruto to have them." Jiraiya gave a strained smile.

"Thank you for giving me these." Itachi nodded his head before leaving. Looking down at the eyes, he then moved towards his apprentice. Releasing a deep sigh, Jiraiya walked towards Naruto and dispelled his clone.

"Who was that Jiraiya-sensei?" Naruto asked while repeating his kata.

"That was Itachi." Naruto stopped what he was doing and looked towards his sensei.

"Itachi-nii? What did he want?"

"He came to tell me that an enemy shinobi infiltrated Konoha and killed someone." Naruto looked a bit downtrodden, but not entirely heartbroken. "Naruto, this is going to be hard for you, but the shinobi that died was Shisui." There was a few moments of silence where the young Uzumaki said nothing before he bowed his head. His hands clenched into fists tightly. "Itachi also gave me these." He held out the jar with Shisui's Sharingan eyes inside of them and Naruto took hold of them.

"They're Shisui's, aren't they?" Jiraiya nodded his head.

"Yea, he wanted you to have them." Naruto looked up at Jiraiya with tears in his eyes.

"Who? Who killed him?" Naruto whispered once more.

"If I tell you, promise me that you won't get revenge." Naruto glared at him and Jiraiya knew exactly what he was thinking. "I know the feeling Naruto, the desire to kill the person that killed someone close to you. But that's what shinobi have been doing to each other for years."

"I don't care." Naruto said quietly.

"You should!" Jiraiya nearly shouted. "Me, the Hokage, your father we all wanted to bring peace to the shinobi world. If you only trained for the sole purpose of revenge you would be turning your back on everything we worked for, everything your father worked for." Naruto bowed his head and Jiraiya mentally baited himself for forgetting that Naruto didn't know of his heritage.

However, it seemed to have worked as Naruto didn't seem as dead set on revenge as he was before.

"Shisui wouldn't want you to do so either." Naruto didn't say anything just turned and disappeared inside the house.

 _'God dammit Orochimaru, you just had to do this.'_ Hopefully Naruto would make the right decision.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Naruto hugged the jar that had Shisui's eyes inside close to his chest. They were the only thing that remained of one of his older brother figures. Slowly he allowed his mind to play over what his godfather had said to him.

Clenching his fists tightly, Naruto stood up from his position on the sofa and walked out of the door with his mind set on what he planned to do.

When he opened the door, he found Jiraiya waiting for him.

"I've made up my mind." Jiraiya studied him for a few moments. "I want you to train me harder than you did before." Jiraiya crossed his arms over his chest and stared straight at him.

"And what do you plan to do with the power you gain?"

"I want to become so strong that no one will dare hurt those I care about. And if someone did, I want to be strong enough that I can protect them." Jiraiya nodded his head.

"Then you better get ready Naruto. You thought it was difficult before, it's about to get much harder." Naruto nodded his head.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

He didn't know where he was. The last thing he remembered was placing Shisui's eyes on his bedside table before crying himself to sleep. Now here he was, in a sewer. The water around him was up to his ankles, but it seemed to be made of entirely of chakra.

Following the path he came across a very large cage, made entirely of red bars. Moving forwards he looked closer into the dark abyss that was the cage.

 **"Come closer ningen."** A demonic voice sounded from behind the cage. With it, Naruto watched two eyes appear. Each were blood red with a black reptilian pupil. More of the mysterious revealed itself until Naruto found himself staring at a large orange fox with rabbit ears and nine swishing tails.

Naruto slowly stepped forward but he quickly stopped just as a claw stopped a mere hairs width away from his face.

 **"Next time you won't be so lucky."** The beast taunted.

"Y-you're the K-Kyuubi." Naruto stuttered. The Kyuubi grinned savagely.

 **"I am ningen."** The Kyuubi confirmed.

"Why are you here, the Yondaime killed you?" The Kyuubi snorted and laid his head down on his front paws.

 **"I wasn't killed, no human could kill me so he sealed me away inside of you by your Yondaime Hokage."** It informed him. **"You're what you call a Jinchuuriki."**

"A human sacrifice?" Naruto repeated in questioning.

 **"That's what it means, yes. Leave ningen, I have no care for your presence."** Naruto stared at the Kyuubi with curiosity. **"I said leave, ningen!"** The Kyuubi roared but Naruto continued to stare at him. **"What are you staring at?"**

"What would happen to you if I died?"

 **"If you died, I would die. Despite him being only human, the Yondaime was skilled in Fuinjutsu."** The Kyuubi looked especially disgruntled by this fact. **"You better not die ningen, I refuse to die."**

"Then help me." Naruto spoke up gaining a puzzled look from the Kyuubi.

 **"Help you?"** The Kyuubi repeated.

"Yea. I don't want to die, you don't want to die. So we help each other." The Kyuubi sneered.

 **"I refuse to work with someone as weak as you."** Naruto clenched his fists. **"But you make a good point. Get stronger ningen. Then I'll consider working with you."** Naruto unclenched his fist and then smiled brightly. Happy that his suggestion hadn't been shot down.

With that, Naruto left his mind. Intent on becoming strong enough to work alongside with the Kyuubi. With its power, he could do anything.

 **A/N: So this is my second attempt at a Naruto story. Hope you enjoyed. Now I know it was Danzo's ROOT that killed Shisui however, in this story it was Orochimaru because Danzo is going to work with Hiruzen and not against him. Also I've healed Kimimaro because he will play a much larger role in this story than he did before so I've made him stronger as well. In terms of strength, he is about equal if not a tiny bit weaker than Itachi.**

 **As for Naruto, he may seem like a prodigy but he isn't. Naruto in a way is a prodigy, but like Lee, he is a prodigy of hard work. Naruto had the determination to accomplish his goals, he had the stamina to train for hours on end as hard as he wants, the healing factor to heal any injuries he suffered, the chakra to summon thousands of shadow clones that would allow him to do months, if not years' worth of training in a single day. That alone, would make Naruto extremely powerful, add that with the Sharingan gives him the ability to become a godlike shinobi.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Shinigami no Kami**

 **Chapter 2**

"Normal speech."

 _'Normal thought.'_

 _"Jutsu."_

 **"Demon speech/translations."**

 ** _'Demon thought.'_**

 **A/N: I'd like to thank shapeshifter340, Guest, EPIC-FEIRYWOLF, Mr guest, JSua, SPark681, Omni-Creator Kami of Anime, Guest, MissFinest, Percy Jackson7, xirons20, Guest and hennessyswagg83 for your reviews. But if you're going to review, let it be criticism, not hate. If you don't like the way my story goes, then don't read it.**

 **Mr guest:There isn't gonna be any bloodlines like that because Naruto will only have the bloodline we know is in his family.**

 **Omni-Creator Kami of Anime:Naruto might do, I don't know right now. If he does, it won't be until later on.**

 **Guest:** **Naruto won't no, it would make him far too OP, and while he will be Godlike in terms of strength he won't have every bloodline.**

 **Hennessyswagg83:** **On his own, he won't have a team.**

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Three months passed quickly for both master and apprentice. In that time a lot of things had changed. Naruto had managed to increase his total amount of clones from two hundred to six hundred. Now he had five groups training, instead of three, all of them made of a hundred and twenty clones each.

One group would continue to work on his chakra control exercises, incorporating both kunai balancing with tree walking and water walking for extra difficulty. He had another group going through the katas of his _Todorokiryuu (Roaring Dragon)_ fighting style, making sure to commit them all to muscle memory. The next group would train and master one of Jiraiya's original jutsu's, _Hari Jizō (Needle Jizō)_ , and the jutsu that deprived from it, _Hari Jigoku (Needle Hell_ _)_. He had also taught him the _Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique)_ and the _Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique)_.

Then he had a group working Fuinjutsu. Fifty would be working on calligraphy, while the remaining fifty would read through the books on Fūinjutsu. The next group would work on his elemental affinities. Jiraiya hadn't taught Naruto any jutsu's, but he had been teaching Naruto the chakra control techniques. Surprisingly, when he had tested Naruto's elemental affinities with chakra paper, it had revealed three elements: Wind, Fire and Earth.

Naruto however, was dead set on learning to use all five elements. While he barely made any progress with Water and Lightning, his natural affinities had progressed nicely. Jiraiya hypothesised that in another few months, he could begin teaching Naruto a jutsu for each of his natural affinities.

Jiraiya estimated that Naruto was about low Genin level in terms of strength and didn't show any signs of slowing down.

Currently they were travelling towards a small nearby village for some supplies.

The village itself was quiet, only a few stalls and homes. The population was also quite small and so, there whereabouts would be kept quiet for a while. As a shinobi you could never frequent an area more than a few times before an enemy would find your location.

Entering, Jiraiya and Naruto found that the village became tense as soon as they arrived. As a result, Naruto noticed that Jiraiya had also tensed in preparation. While not understanding why his godfather had become so tensed, Naruto prepared himself anyway. After all, if his godfather had told him to follow his lead.

"Stay close Naruto." Nodding his head, Naruto did as his master had told him. The two walked towards a small stand and bought a few months' worth of supplies in vegetables before moving towards a few other stands. Each time buying a certain type of food ranging from meat, fruit, etc.

"That will be a hundred ryo." The shopkeeper said while handing over a bag filled with potatoes.

"Here." Handing over the required amount of money, he took the bag and gave it too Naruto. Taking the bag, Naruto sealed it away inside a scroll. "What's going on here?" He asked, the shopkeeper looked around before shaking his head as a sign of him refusing to speak. Looking around, Jiraiya slipped a small amount of money into the man's hands. The shopkeeper looked down at it before slipping it into his pocket while looking around to see if anyone was watching.

"They came about a year ago. Took ten of our children and disappeared. Every month they've been coming round and taking our children. I can't say anymore, they kill anyone who speaks." Jiraiya nodded his head.

"Here." Jiraiya slipped him a small piece of paper. "On the day that they are to arrive, just burn this and I'll come and help you out." The shopkeeper looked shocked, but grateful at the same time.

"Thank you…"

"Jiraiya. And you are?"

"Toushiro. Thank you again for this Jiraiya-san." Chuckling, Jiraiya scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Don't mention. Just doing what I can." The shopkeeper smiled and nodded his head. "Come on Naruto. We gotta get back before it gets dark." Naruto nodded his head and the two made their way back towards the cabin. Both of them unaware of the figure watching them from the distance.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

 _'How interesting.'_ A man with ash grey hair pulled back into a ponytail and black rimmed circular glasses as he stared down at the retreating figures of Naruto and Jiraiya. _'Orochimaru-sama will want to know of this. But first.'_ His eyes strayed to the shopkeeper, _'it seems the people of this village need to know that Orochimaru-sama's will is not to be forgotten.'_

Channelling chakra into the seal on his wrist, the young teen waited.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Hiruzen looked at the young teen across from him. Itachi Uchiha had not been doing well after the death of his best friend, Shisui. He spent every waking minute either training or going on high-class missions. From B-class and upwards. The young Uchiha had hardly spent anytime within the Uchiha clan compound, unable to face his clan who were planning coup d'état on the village he loved.

Recently however, Itachi had learned that his father planned to accelerate his plans to execute the coup d'état. Negotiations had failed, all that remained was the inevitable violence. Something they couldn't afford at this current time.

"You summoned me, Hokage-sama." Itachi said stoically. Placing a scroll on the desk, he rolled it other to Itachi, who took it into his hand and unfurled it. The young teens eyes widened in shock slightly before he replaced it with a look indifference. "You wish me to kill my clan members involved in the coup d'état?"

"Yes, if this is too much let me know and we will find someone else that is willing to do this." Hiruzen stated. Itachi straightened his back and shook his head.

"No, I will do this Hokage-sama." Hiruzen nodded his head.

"Then Itachi Uchiha, I as Hokage of Konohagakure order you to eliminate the Uchiha involved in the coup d'état." Itachi bowed lowly and then left with a _Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)._ Sighing, Hiruzen knew that whatever happened, Itachi would forever be scarred by what happened.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Toushiro woke up with a start as he heard a few people scream in shock and terror. Looking at his waking wife, he stood up and moved towards the window. Terrified of what he might see, he slightly parted the curtains and looked outside.

People were bee funnelled out into the streets. Five children were held in a cage with mutliple men and women each stood around searching everywhere. Some were on roofs, others acting as enforcers on the ground. All had one thing in common, the headband with the musical note engraved upon it.

Moving back to his wife he shook her completely awake.

"Get the kids, hide them in the cellar and go with them." Neither said anything more, both knowing that if at least one of them present then the shinobi outside would know someone else was hiding inside.

Getting the piece of paper given to him by Jiraiya, he moved towards the fireplace and went to place it in the fire before his wrist was gripped tightly. Looking to his left, he saw a young teen with ash grey hair pulled back into a ponytail and black rimmed circular glasses. The teen looked at him in a condescending fashion.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The teen suggested while wagging his finger from side to side. It was then Toushiro found that there were four other figures beside the teen. Each were young, around nine to eight years old. One was a boy with six arms, one was a boy with two heads, and there was another incredibly fat boy and a young girl with red hair.

"Kabuto-sama! I…" He couldn't say anymore as a fist from the young redhead girl collided with his cheek knocking him face first in the fire. Toushiro screamed out in pain as he shot out, straight into the arms of the fat boy.

"Now, tell me. What…did you tell…Jiraiya of the Sannin?" He left multiple gaps to stress the seriousness of the situation.

"I-I didn't tell him anything important." Kabuto sighed and crouched down low.

"Now you see, that's a problem. Because I don't believe you." He turned to the fat boy and indicated to the fire. Instantly Toushiro was thrust face first into the fire and screamed out in pain. "Let him out." Pulling the civilian out of the fire, the fat boy threw him onto the floor unceremoniously. Kabuto went to say something else when they heard a faint crash and a muffled gasp. "Kidōmaru, Tayuya, Sakon and Ukon, find where that noise came from." The three shinobi in question did just that.

Toushiro tried to open his mouth to say something, but the pain from his burns stopped him. Seeing this, Kabuto smirked evilly.

There was a few moments of silence between the three of them as they heard the sounds of the house been torn apart. However, that soon turned to screams and shouts from a woman and children.

Toushiro could barely open his eyes from the pain, but he did and saw his wife and two children been dragged into the room. Each forced down to their knees with a kunai held at their neck. Kabuto made sure that Toushiro saw this before turning back to the injured shopkeeper.

"Now, I'm going to ask you one more time. If you don't tell me the truth I will take your children and I will make sure they suffer all mannerisms of experiments and torture. As for your wife, I will allow every man to in Otogakure to have their way with her." Kabuto smirked upon seeing the horror in the man's eyes. "So, what did you tell Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

"Everything! I told him everything!" He cried out in shock.

"Now that wasn't so hard was it?" Kabuto said with amusment lacing his voice. Standing up, he turned to the fat boy. "Do it Jirōbō." The boy nodded his head and embedded a kunai into his head, killing him instantly. The woman and children screamed, even more so when they were dragged out of the house behind Toushiro's body.

Walking out into the street, Kabuto clapped his hands together once to get the attention of the villagers.

"Hello, everyone." Kabuto said boisterously. "For a year now we have worked together in harmony, but now we find out that you haven't been as happy with our agreement as we had hoped. So, we have to make an example." He clicked his fingers and Jirōbō walked forwards and dumped Toushiro on the floor. Toushiro's children were thrown into a cage, separate to the five other children and the wife was given into the chuckling arms of a few male shinobi. Everyone knowing exactly what would happen to her. "The next time you think of sharing what happens here with any outsiders, remember what happened today."

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Itachi looked at the file given to him by Danzo, in it were the list of Uchiha involved in the coup d'état. In total out of the two thousand members of the Uchiha clan, only five hundred were knowledgeable of what was going on. In his opinion it was both smart and stupid. Smart, because the less people knew of what was happening, the less could tell the secret. Stupid, because Konoha was already in a weakened state from the Third Shinobi War and the Kyuubi attack, the coup d'état would only weaken them further.

Drawing his Tantō, Itachi jumped down into the street and instantly found his first target coming onto the street from an alleyway. Inabi Uchiha, a member of Uchiha Police Force. Just as he was about to move forwards, he found that he wasn't alone.

From the alleyway four other Uchiha clan members appeared, they were Naka Uchiha, Setsuna Uchiha, Tekka Uchiha and Yashiro Uchiha.

Each of them strutted around and carried themselves with an air of arrogance. It was to be expected after all, they were a couple of the select few Uchiha members to unlock the Sharingan.

From what he remembered, Shisui had told him that Naka Uchiha was the only other person he knew of to have unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan. He would have to eliminate them first. Giving a deep breath, he walked forwards towards the five other shinobi.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is. The great Itachi Uchiha." Inabi mocked. Paying them no heed, he walked straight towards them.

"Hey! Where talking to you asshole!" Setsuna exclaimed. He along with, Inabi and Tekka clenched their fists tightly while Naka looked on with amusment. Avoiding Inabi, Tekka, Setsuna and Yashiro he walked straight towards Naka. There was nothing that indicated he had done anything as he walked past like nothing happened. Slowly, the five shinobi dropped to the ground holding their throats, blood spilling through the gaps in their fingers.

All the while, Itachi clenched his fist tightly as he now had the blood of his family on his hands. At least, Konoha would be safe as a result.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Nine months soon passed by for Naruto and Jiraiya. In that time there had been a change in the five, nearly six year old Uzumaki. After the news of Itachi becoming missing ninja when he killed a quarter of his clan single-handedly had struck a chord inside of him.

He had begun training harder than ever before. Progressing in every way he possibly could. The number of clones he could now create had increased from six hundred to nine hundred, each of them stronger and able to take a couple of punches before dispelling. Not only that but his chakra control exercises were becoming much easier and Jiraiya had instead got Naruto's clones to try running up the waterfall. So far Naruto could only manage to get about a quarter of the way up before falling.

In terms of his Taijutsu style, the _Todorokiryuu (Roaring Dragon)_ he had managed to gain at least a high Genin level in terms of skill. In terms of Fūinjutsu he had progressed to Level Two of ten and he took to it like a fish to water. As for his elemental chakra controls, he had managed to cut a rock with wind, he had managed to burn a rock with fire and had managed to reduce a rock to dust. In terms of water, he could absorb water from a leaf and could also make a small amount of electricity course through a leaf without destroying it.

Next came his Ninjutsu. Jiraiya suspected he was about low Chūnin level in terms of strength. He had taught Naruto three additional jutsu and planned to begin teaching elemental jutsu to him when he proved himself capable of handling himself. His weights had also progressed greatly.

"So, you ready?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto nodded his head. "You remember what we need?" He nodded his head once more. "Good. I expect you back before its dark. If you run into trouble what do you need to do?" Naruto rolled up his sleeve revealing a rather simple sealing array.

"Channel chakra into this and it will let you know that I'm in trouble." Jiraiya ruffled Naruto's hair gaining a huff of irritation. Chuckling, Jiraiya opened up an area in the sealing barrier for Naruto to get through. Once the sealing barrier closed up behind him, Jiraiya turned around and summoned as many clones as he could.

"Let's work on making this place a bit larger, shall we?" With the way his apprentice was progressing and the amount of clones he was beginning to produce, the clearing he had bought wouldn't be big enough soon.

However, there was small piece of him that was worried about something happening to Naruto. Nine months had passed and he hadn't heard a single thing from Toushiro. In the Shinobi world, there was no such thing as coincidence, only timing. Toushiro disappearing after he had made his fear of retribution known, was no coincidence.

While he was afraid that Naruto might get hurt, he knew that his apprentice needed this. He needed to prove himself to not only him, but the memory of his older brother, Shisui. So he allowed it, albeit reluctantly.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Kidōmaru looked down at the village from his perch upon one of the roofs. Kimimaro, leader of the Sound Four had given him the mission of testing a young boy who was travelling with Jiraiya of the Sannin. He had multiple other shinobi with him to keep Jiraiya busy while he fought the boy.

"There he is." Kabuto said from beside him. Kidōmaru spared him a glance, before looking down at the young blonde boy walking into the village.

"Him?" Kidōmaru asked sceptically. "He's barely a few years old."

"That is not the point. The point is; he," he pointed towards Naruto who was buying some food, "is Jiraiya of the Sannnin's apprentice. While, young he is no doubt skilled." Kidōmaru paused before nodding his head in understanding. "Orochimaru-sama wants you to force him to use the extent of his abilities. Even if it kills you. If you do as Orochimaru-sama asked and survive, then he shall gift you with an _Orochimaru no Juinjutsu (Orochimaru Cursed Seal)._ "

"I know that!" Kidōmaru snapped. While he was grateful for Orochimaru for saving him, fighting a child was beneath him. However, the reward of greater power was more than enough to make him do this task.

"Then why are you still here?" Kabuto asked mockingly. Clenching his fists in anger, Kidōmaru jumped down so he was in front of Naruto with around twenty metres in between the two of them.

Naruto studied the six armed individual with something akin to confusion and wonderment however, that soon turned into wariness as his eyes took in the headband.

"Are you the reason this village has been suffering?" Kidōmaru sneered at the boy.

"And if I'm part of the reason?"

"Then I'm going to ask you to stop." Kidōmaru laughed mockingly. Slowly he calmed down, but those watching could still see his amusment at the threat. "Is that a no?"

"Yea, it is." Clenching his fists, Naruto lowered himself down into his _Todorokiryuu (Roaring Dragon)_ defensive stance. Kidōmaru smirked and ran through a set of hand seals. _"Kumo Sōka (Spider Web Flower)!"_ From his mouth, four nets that looked much like spider webs, launched towards Naruto at great speeds.

Reacting quickly, Naruto jumped backwards and avoided the nets before summoning a single shadow clone.

The clone charged forward and Kidōmaru instantly pulled out some golden looking gum, one for each hand that looked like a boomerang in shape with mutliple tiny spikes decorating it.

His arms spread wide and Kidōmaru said, _"Kumo Nenkin (Spider Sticky Gold)."_

Seeing these weapons, the clone of Naruto pulled out two kunai while continuing his charge. Kidōmaru met the Uzumaki's charge head on and two of his golden boomerangs locked with Naruto's, while his other four slashed at his chest causing the clone to disappear in cloud of smoke.

With a flick of his wrist, five shuriken appeared in between his fingers and he threw them towards the six armed shinobi. Quickly, his hands blurred through a set of hand seals and channelled chakra.

 _"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)!"_ The ten shuriken then numbered around two hundred or more. Knowing that he didn't have enough time to get out of the way, Kidōmaru formed the ram seal and from every pore of his body came the same gold like substance that formed his weapons. The shuriken impacted against his skin before dropping to the ground having left no mark on the armour. "What the hell is that?!"

"This is my, _Nenkin no Yoroi (Armour of Sticky Gold)._ Nothing you do will pierce through this armour!" Kidōmaru stated, his voice filled with arrogance.

 _'He can still speak meaning that air can get through it. I don't have any_ _Fūton Jutsu's (Wind Style Techniques),_ _but the_ _Dokugiri (Poison Fog)_ _could probably work. However, the villagers will also be affected.'_ He looked around at the area, before coming to a single thought. _'I need to get him out of the village and I won't have to worry about bystanders.'_

Two more clones appeared by his side and charged towards Kidōmaru.

One thing he noticed was that the six armed shinobi was stiff in the way he moved. Obviously, the word sticky in the name of the technique was not just for show. The first clone struck with a straight jab to Kidōmaru's chest however, when he tried to pull away he found his fist stuck to the armour. Just as Kidōmaru was about to strike the second launched off the first and kicked him in the face.

Grunting, Kidōmaru managed to stay in his position only because the armour was stuck to the ground. Seeing this, the second clone flipped over Kidōmaru just as the second clone said two words.

 _"Bunshin Daibakuha (Clone Great Explosion)!"_ Kidōmaru's eyes widened in shock as the clone exploded. Kidōmaru screamed in pain, despite the flames never reaching his body, the heat from it still caused him a great deal of pain.

The second Naruto clone waited as Kidōmaru appeared from the cloud of smoke, his armour still intact but covered in flames. As the form of Kidōmaru got closer, the clone waited until he was just on top of him before exploding as well. As a result, the Sound Four member was sent flying into the forest.

Smirking as his plan came to fruition, Naruto followed after him with kunai in hand.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Kidōmaru growled in anger as he got to his feet, in front of him were a couple of toppled trees. His armour was cracked and it was taking more chakra to make it stick back to his body, the flames having burned away what made it sticky.

Knowing that the young shinobi in training would appear soon, he ran through a quick set of hand seals.

 _"Kumo Sōkei (Spider Web Area)."_ Multiple strands of web shot out from his body and disappeared into the forest. The purpose of this technique was that the displacement of the wind as someone moved would cause the string to vibrate alerting him of an incoming enemy.

He didn't have to wait long as the webs on the right hand side began vibrating. Preparing himself, Kidōmaru gripped his weapons tightly in all six hands. He smirked when he saw Naruto charging towards him. Drawing his arms back, he launched them towards the incoming figure.

In return, Naruto went through six quick hand seals and called out, _"Hari Jizō (Needle Jizō)!"_ Blonde hair wrapped around Naruto's body and deflected the weapons from Kidōmaru. _"Hari Jigoku (Needle Hell)! Ranjishigami no Jutsu (Wild Lion's Mane Technique)!"_ Instantly the hair protecting Naruto's body shot forth like needles and Kidōmaru was forced to jump to the side. In doing so, he left himself open for the next attack. This time, he had no time to create his armour, and with him been in the air, he was unable to manoeuvre around the second strike.

The hair had formed into a mouth with sharp teeth. He still had one technique he could use.

 _"Kumosōkai (Spider Web Unrolling)!"_ From his mouth a large net wrapped around the mouth stopping it from moving towards him. Naruto leaped from a tree straight towards Kidōmaru with his kunai in hand. _"Kumonendo (Spider Sticking Spit)!"_ A tube of the webs launched towards Naruto.

It stuck to his chest and Naruto threw his kunai straight at Kidōmaru.

Paying the kunai no heed as they were off target, he swung Naruto around into a tree. As soon as Naruto collided with it, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

 _'Shit!'_ He cursed mentally, then the sound of sizzling reached his ears. Turning to the right and then the left, he saw the kunai he had judged as been nothing, had an explosive tag wrapped around the handle. _'Double shit!"_ There was a loud bomb as the birds in the forest shot from their nests.

Coughing, Kidōmaru jumped out from the smoke and looked around for any sign of his enemy. However, his eyes instantly picked up on the sight of multiple more explosive tags. One set off and then a chain reaction set off the rest of them.

For at least two miles, everyone saw the explosion that followed as a result.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Kabuto found himself practically buzzing with excitement. This mission had turned out to be more informative than he could have ever hoped. Truly, the young Uzumaki boy was skilled. While he wasn't fast enough, strong enough or skilled enough to get in close quarters with Kidōmaru. He more than made up for it with his ingenious use of his limited Ninjutsu repertoire.

 _'Orochimaru-sama will be especially pleased by this turn of events.'_ He was instantly knocked from the tree he was perched on as the explosive tags Naruto had placed around the area were set off.

Acting quickly, Kabuto channelled chakra into his feet and planted himself firmly on the trunk of the tree.

 _'Orochimaru-sama will be pleased indeed.'_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Jiraiya took a break from expanding the clearing with _Doton Jutsu's (Earth Style Techniques)_. The previous ten acres, had become fifty acres. More than enough to fit Naruto's rising army of shadow clones.

Brining up a flask of water to his lips, he took a quick swig of water and allowed himself to relax in the midday sun. While it was in October, in the Land of Fire it was still quite warm, especially in the sun. However, his rest and relaxation time was cut short by a large explosion he saw coming from the village's direction.

"Naruto!" He shot to his feet and raced towards the direction of the village.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Naruto had his hands placed into the ram seal as he stared at the cloud of smoke. Waiting for something or someone to come out of it. Slowly it subsided, revealing Kidōmaru panting heavily. His body was brunt and damaged with all three of his right arms in varying states of dismemberment. The top bottom arm was completely gone, the middle was just a stump and the third had its hand missing. Luckily for the man, there was no blood as it seemed to have been cauterized any wound.

"You piece of shit!" He roared and launched himself towards Naruto.

 _"Dokugiri (Poison Mist)!"_ From Naruto's mouth, a large purple fog shot towards Kidōmaru, who ran straight into it. Much to his shock however, Kidōmaru continued on and pulled out a kunai. Readying it to stab Naruto. _'I can't dodge this. I'm going to die, I don't want to die here.'_ He didn't know what happened, something inside of him seemed to respond to his desperation.

From his back, chains that were silver in colour shot forwards and pierced through Kidōmaru's stomach.

The Otogakure shinobi gasped in pain as blood spilled out from his mouth. In shock, Naruto stopped his chakra from responding to his will and watched as the chains disappeared dropping Kidōmaru to the ground, bleeding and dying.

"Naruto!" He heard Jiraiya shout. Turning around, his eyes wide and hands trembling in shock over what he had done. "Are you alright?" Jiraiya said with concern evident in his voice as he kneeled down in front of him. Hesitantly, Naruto nodded his head and Jiraiya hugged him close. "That's good, that's good. Come on, let's get out of here." With that, the two left, Naruto slightly lagging behind as he still tried to process what happened.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Kabuto waited until he was sure that Jiraiya was far enough away before jumping down to land beside the body of Kidōmaru. Looking down at the body, he was expecting to find him dead already. To his shock however, Kidōmaru was still alive.

"Well, well, well Kidōmaru-kun. It seems you will be of more use to Orochimaru-sama than I had originally thought." Kabuto leaned down and placed his green glowing hands above Kidōmaru's chest.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Jiraiya looked down at his apprentice as they walked back towards the cabin. He had been quiet the entire journey. He himself, was too busy thinking about Naruto's new abilities. He had not expected Naruto to unlock the _Kongō Fūsa (Adamantine Sealing Chains)_ because it appeared in every one out of ten female Uzumaki and one out of a hundred male Uzumaki.

The fact that Naruto had gained this made Naruto's potential skyrocket. Kushina while weakened and near death had managed to restrain the Kyuubi long enough for Minato to seal the Kyuubi inside Naruto. When she had been fully healed and enraged, not even Minato had dared cross her.

"Naruto. It's not your fault." Jiraiya finally spoke up, breaking the silence. He knew what Naruto was going through, the horror of one's first kill. Many shinobi were unable to even continue their career choices after the first kill, some even committed suicide to escape the face of the one they killed. "I know what it feels like, to kill someone. But that's part of what makes a shinobi. In this world there are only two rules that properly count in this world."

Naruto looked up at him in confusion, but Jiraiya could see the pain hidden in those blue orbs.

"What are they, Jiraiya-sensei?" He asked in a quiet voice.

"The first is that only the strongest survive." He waited until Naruto had nodded his head in understanding before continuing. "The second, is that it is kill or be killed." There was a few moments of silence, allowing Naruto to digest what he had said. "Naruto, he was an enemy shinobi. If you hadn't of killed him first, he would have killed you in turn. Think of the Hokage's, do you think each of them became powerful by not killing anyone? Do you?" He pressed.

"No."

"Exactly. Each of them became who they are by killing hundreds of thousands of men. The Yondaime himself killed over a thousand Iwagakure ninja in a matter of minutes. What about Kakashi, he gained his moniker as **Sharingan no Kakashi (Copy Ninja Kakashi)** by only having the Sharingan, he copied his enemy's jutsu and used the same techniques to kill them." Naruto just nodded his head, not knowing what to say. "One day, you will have to kill your enemies, or they will kill you and everyone you care about."

"Jiraiya-sensei, why did the Yondaime seal the Kyuubi away inside of me?" He finally asked. Jiraiya froze in shock and looked at his apprentice. "It's just that, you mentioned the Yondaime and I remembered the Kyuubi speaking of how he was sealed away inside of me by the Yondaime. I just wanted to know why he did it."

"That's alright Naruto. I should have expected that you would eventually meet the Kyuubi, I just didn't think it would be so soon." Humming in thought as he tried to think of how to word what needed to be said. "When a Bijū is sealed, it has to be inside that of a human baby. That is because their chakra coils haven't fully developed. If it was sealed inside an adult it would kill them. On that day, you were the only child born on that day and so the Yondaime used you as the vessel. Don't hate him for his choice, all Hokage's have to make difficult decisions for the good of the village. Something you will have to do when you become Hokage. Remember that."

Naruto simply stood there, even as Jiraiya patted him on the shoulder and walked inside the cabin. For a few moments, he simply stood there before raising his left hand. Thinking back on the feeling he had when Kidōmaru was about to kill him, he imagined the chains once more. The feelings he had due to knowing why the Yondaime choose to make him a Jinchūriki.

Slowly from the palm of his hand, something of similar appearance to a kunai blade appeared. More and more of the same metal revealed itself from his palm. Link after link of chain appeared until the tip touched the ground.

He tried to force more chakra into the chains, but nothing happened. It seems this was his limit. If he planned to live a long life and protect those he cared about, he would have to get stronger.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Kabuto watched his master slowly rise up from his seated position at his desk. Not much could force his master to break away from his notes when he was making a breakthrough, or what he believed to be a breakthrough.

"Tell me Kabuto-kun, how did Kidōmaru-kun perform on his mission?" Orochimaru asked.

"Excellently, Orochimaru-sama, this is a list of all Naruto Uzumaki's abilities." He handed over a file that Orochimaru quickly scanned over before placing it on the desk.

"And what of Kidōmaru-kun?"

"Severely injured. His entire ribcage is broken, with one of his right arms missing completely, another is gone from the elbow onward and the final one is missing its hand. He has third-degree burns covering three-quarters of his body and his respiratory system is damaged greatly, to the point of been almost unsalvageable." Orochimaru nodded his head.

"Prep him. I shall properly reward him for a job well done." Kabuto bowed and left the room. Once the door was closed, Orochimaru chuckled. "Kukukuku, Jiraiya you sure do know how to find the diamond amongst the rough."

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

The next day marked the start of October. Ten days until Naruto's birthday, including today. Both of them had already finished breakfast and were now stood in the centre of the ground.

"Right then Naruto, you know the drill." Nodding his head, Naruto summoned the nine hundred shadow clones required, but this time he summoned seven clones. "We're gonna add an extra group to the training regime. I trust you know what they will be working on." Naruto nodded his head. "Good. I want a hundred and fifty clones to go with each one of mine."

Once the clones dispersed to the required areas, Jiraiya then turned to the original.

"So are we doing the usual, Jiraiya-sensei?" The master simply smiled in his apprentice's direction.

"Yes however, your weights are been increased. From what I remember I allowed you to take them off, but now we are gonna put them back on and increase them." Jiraiya formed the ram seal allowing Naruto to prepare himself for the added weight that was about to come. Instantly, eighty kilograms, twenty on each limb was added to his normal weight. Naruto's knees buckled slightly, but he stayed upright. Then an extra five kilograms were added to each limb. "Now I'm gonna add an extra seal. This is an _Fūin Teikou (Resistance Seal)_."

"What does it do?" Naruto asked excitedly at the thought of learning more about Fūinjutsu. Jiraiya smiled upon seeing this, it seems Naruto had found his resolve once more. That was good.

"In total, there are four levels to this seal. The first is like walking through a powerful gust of wind. Next is like walking through thick snow, then it's like walking in water, then finally it's like walking through mud." Naruto nodded his head. "However, if you go up the levels to quickly it will impair your growth and will have a detrimental effect on your fitness levels."

"Come on then, Jiraiya-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed. Chuckling at his student's enthusiasm, Jiraiya placed his hand on the bare skin of Naruto's left hand.

 _"Fūin Teikou: Reberu 1 (Resistance Seal: Level 1)."_ Jiraiya said as his hand glowed a bright blue. Once he pulled his hand away a new seal was decorating his hand. "You know kid, I think I've made a monster." Naruto smiled at the compliment. Before, he would have been upset by been referred to that. Now though, he knew that to be a monster in the Shinobi world was good thing. "Now get to it." Nodding his head, Naruto began performing his exercises.

Five laps around the newly extended clearing followed by half an hour of stretches. Then he would do two hundred push ups, sit-ups, squats and a few other exercises.

Once he had done, Naruto found himself doing something different. Instead of fighting Jiraiya and gaining battle experience as a result, Naruto instead found himself crossed legged with his sensei across from him.

"Now, today we're gonna take a break from fighting and instead work on learning to bring forth the Kyuubi's chakra." Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but Jiraiya cut him off. "I know, you want to get strong without its chakra. However, at some point you will face an opponent too strong to beat with your own power. Being able to use the Kyuubi's chakra will help you fight such an opponent."

"Ok, but I will only use it when I have no choice." Naruto said and if he was on his feet, Jiraiya imagined he would have stomped his foot down on the ground. The thought made him laugh.

"I'd be disappointed if you only used the Kyuubi's chakra after everything I've taught you." Naruto nodded his head in agreement.

"So, how am I meant to speak to the Kyuubi? All the Kyuubi said was that it would call me when it believed I was strong enough." Naruto paused for a few moments and then asked, "Shouldn't I be able to use its chakra without his help? So why do I need to speak to him?"

"Yes, you can use its chakra without its permission, but it will be incredibly painful. With the Kyuubi's help however, you can use it without fear of it taking over and without the pain. Plus kid, it's your mind." That was all Jiraiya say to get his point across. Naruto blushed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and Jiraiya found himself remembering Minato been much the same. "Just meditate, calm yourself and…will yourself into your mind I guess."

"Wow that was so helpful." Naruto deadpanned only to receive a mock glare from Jiraiya in return.

"Shut up you little brat! Get on with it." Calming his breathing, he closed his eyes.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Naruto looked around the similar looking sewer and knew, that he was in correct area. Following the path like he did before, he found himself standing outside the cage once more.

"Eh, Kyuubi. Can we talk?" There was a few moments of silence. "Kyuubi." Again there was silence. He called out to the Kyuubi a few more minutes before growing impatient. "Oi, furball!" He shouted and received a roar of outrage in response.

 **"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME NINGEN?!"** The Kyuubi roared.

"I called you a few times before that, but you didn't answer." Naruto replied, unperturbed by the Kyuubi's rage. Huffing, the fox lowered its head into its arms.

 **"What do you want ningen?"**

"I want to ask you a few things." The Kyuubi huffed once more and Naruto took that as a sign to continue. "Are you the reason my control over water and lightning have increased?"

 **"Yes. You proved yourself against the six armed ningen."** The Kyuubi explained.

"I was wondering if you would assist me in using your chakra."

 **"Assist you?"** The Kyuubi's head rose up and he peered into Naruto's eyes.

"Yea, Jiraiya-sensei told me that it would be easier to use your chakra with you giving me permission to use it."

 **"And why should I help you. It'd be much easier for me to take control of your body if I didn't."** Naruto smirked confidently.

"My sensei placed a seal on me that will supress your influence and power in case that happened." The fox growled in anger at this snippet of information. "Look, I don't like this as much as you. I don't want to use your power, I want to be rely on my own power not yours." Here the Kyuubi stared at him curiously. Normally humans would take his power without caring for what he thought. "But, I know that eventually I will face someone too strong to beat on my own and then I'll need your help to beat them. So, is there any way that we can come to an agreement? That doesn't involve me killing myself so that you can escape sooner." He added on at the end.

 **"Free me from the seal before you die."**

"Done."

 **"Tear off a bit of the seal so that I can see, smell and hear whatever you do. It'll also upon a connection for us to converse. I refuse to be stuck inside a third host with no one to speak to, even if it has to be a ningen like you."** Naruto nodded his head. **"I want your permission to change the area behind this cage into whatever I want."**

"Why do you need my permission, can't I do just that?"

 **"No."** The fox shook its head. **"Two years ago you could have however, now you can't."**

"Why?" Growling at the consistent questions, the Kyuubi narrowed his eyes.

 **"The area behind this cage is owned by both of us. It's in your mind which makes it yours, but it recognises my presence and power. Therefore whatever happens behind this cage needs the permission from both of us."**

"Ok, sure. Do whatever you want. Anything else?"

 **"Yes. I want you to kill a certain man."**

"Who?" Naruto pressed for information.

 **"You don't need to know his name just yet, but you need to get stronger. Much stronger than you are now. This man was seen as a God amongst men due to his power. When you find him, I shall tell you and assist you."** Silence reigned for a few moments where Naruto mulled over the final offer. He finally nodded his head in agreement.

"You got yourself a deal, Kyuubi."

 **"Kurama."** Seeing the confusion present on Naruto's face, he elaborated. **"Kyuubi is a title, if we're gonna work together you will refer to me by my name, which is Kurama. Only you're allowed to use my name, no one else."** Naruto smiled before slowly disappearing. **_'Interesting ningen.'_**

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

"So, how'd it go?" Jiraiya asked once Naruto got to his feet.

"Ku-Kyuubi's agreed to help me." Judging by the look he received from Jiraiya, the little slip up had been heard and taken into account. But a quick shake of his head stopped the elderly man from saying anything.

"Right then. Let's get to work on drawing out the Kyuubi's chakra. We'll only do this for about two hours and then we'll go back to fighting."

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Kidōmaru only felt pain, like flames setting alight his nerve endings. Besides the pain, was that he couldn't move. His arms and legs didn't respond to what his brain was telling them to do. Then everything came back to him. His defeat at the hands of Naruto, the pain of having been nearly been burnt alive.

 _'Naruto Uzumaki, next time we meet I will kill you.'_ He vowed.

In the next room, Kabuto chuckled in amusment as he watched Kidōmaru lay on the table. He already knew what was going through his mind.

 _'That's it Kidōmaru-kun, give into your hate. It will only bring you closer to Orochimaru-sama.'_ Kabuto thought, while looking at the file in his hand. _'You have outdone yourself, Orochimaru-sama.'_ Oh yes, he had no doubt with the modifications that Orochimaru had made to Kidōmaru, that if Naruto and he were to fight again. It would have a very different end result.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

October tenth, the day the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, the day Naruto was born. Jiraiya and Naruto were currently walking to Takumi village, located in Land of Rivers. The reason for this visit was to not only buy some more kunai and shuriken for Naruto, but to also find his old teammate, Tsunade Senju.

The first thing Naruto noticed was that there was a lot more people present than in the last village he went to. Not only that but they were much livelier.

"Come on Naruto." Doing so, Naruto followed Jiraiya straight into a small casino. They instantly noticed that there was a large crowd around a small table. Mainly men. They walked towards the table and watched as a beautiful woman with large breasts, drunkenly lost more and more money. An even younger woman held a pig in her arms watching with disappointment.

"Eh, Jiraiya-sensei. Why are we here?" Jiraiya tore his gaze away from the woman and looked down at his apprentice.

"Oh, she's gonna help us replace your eyes with the others." Naruto's eyes widened in shock before smiling brightly up at him.

 **"I don't know why you need those fucking eyes. You could be strong without them."**

 _'Yea I know, Kurama. But, they can help me get stronger quicker. Besides, they'll help me beat this mystery guy.'_

 **"Hmph, whatever."** Naruto shook his head at Kurama's stubbornness. Since the two had created the agreement, the two had been talking. Well, Naruto would talk to the Kyuubi and the fox in turn would either ignore or complain about, 'annoying ningens.' However, Kurama had been vocal about having the Sharingan transplanted. Claiming that Naruto didn't need them.

"Is he been annoying again?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto nodded his head. "Ah well, you can't win over everyone."

"Yea, I know. So, are we gonna get her to help us, or are you just gonna stare at her, Ero-sennin." Whatever Jiraiya expected Naruto to say, it was not that. Therefore he attracted the eyes of everyone nearby when his face slapped against the ground.

"Jiraiya!" Tsunade shouted from her position. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Err, hey Tsunade-hime." Jiraiya said awkwardly, but his eyes began straying downwards towards her chest. Everyone, except Jiraiya and Naruto moved backwards. Jiraiya because he was too busy ogling Tsunade, Naruto because he was too young to understand righteous feminine fury.

"Ero-sennin, what's going on? She looks really angry at you." Dear sweet, innocent, naïve Naruto pointed out the obvious. Instantly, Tsunade's entire deposition changed to one of a kind and caring mother.

"Come here, sweetheart." Tsunade motioned towards her, and slowly Naruto walked towards her.

"Naruto, don't leave me, please." Jiraiya pleaded after realizing what was going to happen to him. It was too late for Naruto, as Tsunade gripped his shoulder and moved him towards the woman behind him. She in turn gripped hold of his shoulder to stop him from moving anyway. "Shizune-chan, you're looking as beautiful as always. Please don't let me get hurt." Crocodile tears were streaming down his face.

"Forgive me, Jiraiya-sama." Shizune said simply.

"I'm confused. What's going on?" Naruto asked with wide, curious eyes.

"When you're older." Tsunade spoke from her position, then she stepped forwards and slammed her fist into the side of Jiraiya's face. With a scream of pain, Jiraiya was sent flying through a wall and onto the street. "Come on, Shizune, kid. Let get something to eat and drink while the lecher recovers."

"Ehm, what's your name, Jiraiya-sensei never told me?" Tsunade looked down at Naruto, and despite him reminding her of her younger brother, Nawaki causing her pain, she still smiled down at him.

"My names, Tsunade Senju, that's Shizune Katō."

"Senju? Are you related to the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage's?" He asked excitedly at the thought of meeting someone related to two of his hero's. Tsunade nodded her head. "That's awesome! Do you have the _Mokuton (Wood Style)_ like the Shodaime, or do you have the same _Suiton (Water Style)_ mastery of the Nidaime, or, or, do you have both?" Tsunade smiled down at Naruto.

"No, I don't have the _Mokuton (Wood Style)_ like my grandfather, but I do have a _Suiton (Water Style)_ like my granduncle, but nowhere near as strong." Naruto went to open his mouth once more, but stopped when Tsunade raised her hand up into the air. "How about we wait until we've ordered drinks before asking more questions."

"Ok." Naruto watched as Tsunade paid for a private booth before taking a seat. After ordering drinks, Naruto waited for a few moments before speaking. "How do you know Ero-sennin? How strong are you? How many elemental affinities do you have? How…"

"Alright kid, slow down." Tsunade said. "As for you questions, Jiraiya and I used to be teammates. I'd say I'm around the same level as Jiraiya and I have four elements. What about you, same questions?"

"Jiraiya's my sensei. He's been teaching me for a year now." That was all Tsunade needed to confirm her suspicions on who Naruto's was.

 _'So this is Minato's and Kushina-chan's kid_. _He looks just like you Minato, but he acts like you, Kushina when he gets excited about something.'_ Tsunade smiled as she listened to Naruto speak about all the training she had undergone. Thought she nearly spat out the sake in her mouth when Naruto told her he had an elemental affinities for everyone. _'You also gave birth to a monster it seems.'_

"So you're gonna be a strong shinobi, huh Naruto." The kid nodded his head with a smile on his face.

"Yep. I'm gonna be so strong that I can protect everyone I care about. I'm also gonna be Hokage on day." Again, she found herself staring at the image of Nawaki behind Naruto, but this time Dan was behind him.

"I see." Tsunade gripped hold of her necklace and Shizune spared her a concerned look. "So your back, _Ero-sennin._ " She said mockingly. Jiraiya looked positively depressed when she called him that. Naruto moved other on his side of the table to allow him some room to move.

"Seriously, Naruto. Now, she's never going to stop calling me that."

"Damn right I'm not." Tsunade agreed. "So why are you here Jiraiya?"

"I, we need your help." He corrected when he looked at Naruto. "You see, we have a pair of special ocular tools, that we need help in been placed in a certain place." Tsunade knew exactly what he meant.

"You can't be fucking serious." Jiraiya nodded his head. "How the hell did you even get one of those arrogant pricks to give you their eyes?"

"He's dead." Naruto said quietly.

"About a year ago, an unknown shinobi infiltrated the village and killed Uchiha Shisui. His last wish was for his eyes to be given to Naruto here." There was a few moments of silence were the four of them sat in silence. "So, what'd you say? Will you help?"

"Fine. Meet me at this address tonight." With that Tsunade got up and left. Shizune bowed to Jiraiya and then followed after Tsunade.

"You ready kid?" Naruto only nodded his head, unable to trust his voice.

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and will you please leave a review so I know what you think. If you are wondering, this is how strong Naruto is currently.**

 **Ninjutsu: 2.**

 **Taijutsu: 1.**

 **Genjutsu: 0.5.**

 **Intelligence: 2.**

 **Strength: 1.**

 **Speed: 1.**

 **Hand seals: 2.**

 **Stamina 5.**

 **Total: 15.5.**

 **While, he is nowhere near as strong as you'd expect. Put in mind that everything was at 0, or just above in the case of speed and strength. He has made a lot of progress from then in a year. His speed and strength are also low because of the weights. Also let me put it into perspective, this is Jiraiya's score from Narutopedia.**

 **Ninjutsu: 5.**

 **Taijutsu: 4.5.**

 **Genjutsu: 3.**

 **Intelligence: 4.5.**

 **Strength: 4.5.**

 **Speed: 4.5.**

 **Hand seals: 4.5**

 **Stamina: 5.**

 **Total: 35.5.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Shinobi no Kami**

 **Chapter 3**

 **A/N: A lot of you don't seem to understand how Kimimaro managed to beat Shisui. There are mutliple factors to take into account. The first is that he is not plagued by his illness, meaning he can fight better than we saw. The next is the fact that Shisui had been training previously, he had a fifth of his overall chakra, barely any stamina left and no Soldier Pills to refill his chakra and stamina. Kimimaro on the other hand was fresh and ready for battle, that and he had been observing Shisui train so he knew everything what Shisui could do. Then there is the biggest fact, this is FanFiction, nothing makes sense here. The Naruto world is where people can manipulate the elements, create clones of themselves, stand walls, do Jesus like shit such as walk on water and have children kill their entire clan in a single night. If you wanted it to be realistic then stop reading this fic.**

 **Now that it is out of the way, I'd like to thank shapeshifter340, Bongoloman, Ezeakel, JSua, hennesswayswagg83, Brady420, xirons20, anarion87, jrayeni and animeficfan for your reviews.**

 **Ezeakel:** **The reason why Naruto isn't suffering from the memory lash that he should have is because of the fact that he has the Kyuubi that helps him stop the memories from damaging his psyche too much. Then there is that fact that Jiraiya has been having Naruto dispel small groups of Kage Bunshin's at a time to allow him time to recover from the rush of memories.**

 **JSua:** **No, Naruto isn't the last of his clan only those who were involved in the Coup d'état are involved in are dead. The pairing as of yet is undecided, but I'm gonna post a poll soon. As for Tsunade and Shizune, they will teach him a few things so in a way they do count as senseis, but at the same time they won't be.**

"Normal speech."

 _'Normal thought.'_

 _"Jutsu."_

 **"Demon speech/translations."**

 ** _'Demon thought.'_**

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Two figures walked through the Land of Forests, one looked to be in his late forties with long spiky white hair pulled back into a ponytail. He wore a green, short shirt kimono and matching pants under which he wore a mesh armour that was revealed at his wrists and ankles. He wore handguards, a black belt, traditional Japanese sandals and a red haori with two yellow circles on it.

The next figure looked to be ten years old, he had shaggy blonde, shoulder length hair and blood red eyes with a reptilian pupil. He wore a single black hoodie that was slightly unzipped revealing his mesh shirt armour underneath. Covering his legs were simple ANBU style black pants tucked into black shinobi sandals. Strapped to his forearms were armguards and on his back was a simple wakizashi blade.

It was dark out, the sun having long gone down.

"Naruto, what are your eyes picking out?" The taller figure asked.

"Nothing yet, Ero-sennin." Jiraiya nodded his head. The eyes Jiraiya was on about were a gift from the Kyuubi to Naruto. They weren't really a gift, but more of a way to stop him from relying on the Sharingan as much. In terms of abilities, they allowed him to see things from ten miles away and allowed him to see in the dark.

"They should be around here somewhere. The village isn't too far away."

"What exactly is the mission again? You never told me." Jiraiya looked down at Naruto in confusion.

"Didn't I? I could've sworn I did." Naruto shook his head in answer, shrugging his shoulders Jiraiya explained the mission. "Well, pretty much there's a group of missing ninja that call themselves, the Shinobazu. There are four members, here are there profiles." Naruto took the file and read through the contents.

The leader of the group was Shura, he was a man with long brown hair, small eyes and red markings on his face. His main weapon of choice was an umbrella that could do multiple things such as, shoot senbon, flames, and metal wires and had a hidden sword inside of it.

Then there was Gantetsu, a man of great stature with black hair held back in a ponytail and a black goatee. The only thing of note of him was his great strength.

The next member was a very feminine man called Monju with light blue hair held back in a ponytail and black-coloured eyes. His outfit consisted of shorts and a purple tank top. The man's main and only showcased techniques was his wire techniques.

The final member was a man called Toki with short cropped brown hair and black eyes. His outfit consisted of a white headband wrapped around his head, green armless robes and a drilling device located on his left arm.

Overall the group was nothing special.

"Sarutobi-sensei gave us the mission to eliminate them. But to capture the leader, he believes that there is something more at work." Naruto hummed as he thought of what that could possibly mean. Before he could truly think about anything, his eyes picked up on movement in the village.

"They're there." As soon as those words left his mouth, the two shot off through the trees. The quickly managed to arrive at the village and when they did they watched the four members of Shinobazu tearing through the village.

"Naruto." Looking up to his sensei, he saw that gone was his perverted and carefree godfather, instead he was replaced by the battle-hardened shinobi that made his grandfather. "You take Gantetsu and Toki." Nodding his head, Naruto shot into the direction of Gantetsu who was currently in the middle of squeezing the life out of two separate people.

Appearing, he drew his wakizashi and slashed at Gantetsu's outstretched arms. Lucky for the bulky man, he managed to jump backwards and avoid the slash. A little ways away, Toki only just flipped backwards to avoid a horizontal slash from a clone. Instantly Toki and Gantetsu moved so that they were back to back, while the two Naruto's covered each end of the street.

"Everyone, get out of here now." Naruto ordered and the remaining villagers rushed away.

"You got balls kid. I'll give you that." Toki said. "But you better be prepared to pay for what you just did…" He raised his right arm showing off his drill like device.

"You're gonna say somat real cliché like, you'll pay with your life." He made his voice sound deeper to mock Toki. It worked because Toki ground his teeth together. "Are you done talking now, I have things to do and places to be. Beating your asses into the ground isn't one of those things."

"Alright brat, you asked for it." Raising his right arm into the air, he channelled chakra into it and watched it spin around madly.

Seeing this, Naruto charged forwards and Gantetsu met his charge. The large bulky man swung his fist round to strike Naruto, but he simply moved his body to the side and simultaneously slapped it to further knock it off target. Gantetsu once again went to hit him however, Naruto repeated the same manoeuvre.

"Gantetsu move!" Toki shouted and the bulky man jumped to the side. Naruto quickly ran through a set of hand seals just as Toki exclaimed, _"Tsuchi Kurenai (Crimson Earth)!"_ The drill part of the device shot forwards towards Naruto's direction.

 _"Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)!"_ Releasing a large gust of wind, it slammed into the drill and forced it back in the direction it came. Not allowing this advantage to go, he charged forwards however, Gantetsu appeared in his path. Not slowing down, Naruto used the bulky man's knee as a springboard to slam his knee into his chin. Using the momentum the Uzumaki flipped over him and continued onto Toki. _"Katon: Haisekishō (Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning)!"_ From his mouth, gunpowder covered the area around Toki. With a quick spark made from flint placed in his teeth beforehand ignited the gunpowder.

With a scream of pain, Toki jumped out of the flames trying desperately to take of the drill lie device from his right hand. The heat from the flames having been conducted by the metal.

Turning around, Naruto quickly raised both arms in a cross fashion to absorb most of the impact from the kick he received from Gantetsu. Even so, the power behind the kick lifted him off his feet and shot backwards. However, from his back multiple chains shot forward and wrapped around Gantetsu.

Using this, he slowed himself down enough for him to safely land on the roof of the nearby building. The chains then receded back towards him and pointed towards Gantetsu once more.

 _"Kongō Fūsa: Piasu no Maruchi (Adamantine Sealing Chains: Multi Piercing)!"_ More chains sprouted from his back until around fifty silver chains with pointed tips were all pointing straight at Gantetsu. Then they all shot forwards at great speeds and the bulky man had no way to avoid them.

Toki, who had managed to recover looked over towards Gantetsu to see him been pierced over and over again until there was a single large hole through his chest. Gritting his teeth, he turned towards Naruto, but he knew that fighting him would be hopeless and so he ran.

Seeing this, Naruto quickly used a _Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)_ to appear in front of him with his wakizashi in hand. The end pointing straight towards Toki's heart. Due to the speed in which he had been running, the Shinobazu member had no way to slow down and so found himself pierced through the heart by Naruto's blade. Gasping in shock as blood spilled out from his mouth, Toki dropped to his knees only held up by the blade in his heart. So when Naruto pulled his blade from its fleshy confines, Toki dropped to the ground face first.

"I tell you what kid, it's creepy to see how strong you've gotten." Naruto nodded his head in agreement. Despite killing multiple other enemy Shinobi in his four years since his first kill, Naruto still had to spend time to get used to what he had just done.

After a few moments, Naruto finally returned to normal.

"Yea, I still haven't found anyone that give me a good challenge." Jiraiya faked been hurt by clutching his heart." "Stop been an idiot Ero-sennin. I want someone around my level of strength so that I can fully find out my limits. Fighting you right now is getting quite tedious. You know everything about me and I've figured quite a few things about your fighting style. No one has been able to match me blow for blow without holding back loads. I want a fight were I know both sides are going all out." Jiraiya nodded his head, he too knew the feeling well once. "How'd it go other on your end?"

"Come on Naruto, have some faith in me." Jiraiya said.

"I would if you weren't a hopeless pervert." Naruto began walking only to find that he was alone. Turning around he saw Jiraiya curled up in a ball with a raincloud above his head all the while mumbling, "I'm not a pervert; I'm a super pervert. Why does no one get that?" Sweat dropping, Naruto shook his head and continued walking paying no mind to his godfather.

Jiraiya meanwhile, had recovered and was walking a ways behind Naruto. The boy had changed a lot over the past four years. In terms of strength he would place him around Chunin level with an intellectual mind that allowed him to excel.

Already the boy had impressive mission record. One hundred percent completion rate, which is impressive considering he had done thirty C-rank missions, ten B-ranks and a single A-rank. Jiraiya had also introduced Naruto to his extensive spy network and had also begun helping him run it all.

There was one problem though. Naruto was reaching his limit. Every Shinobi had limitless potential at their fingertips however, too much power at a young age would destroy the body. Therefore, the body would personally limit itself as a result. Only when a child reached their maturity would the walls that kept their potential locked away would crumble. However, for this wall to crumble fully you must reach your limit before your maturity otherwise it will only partial breakaway. It was one of the reasons why there were so little Jōnin.

For a shinobi though, to have your potential be limited was dangerous. It was for that reason that the age of maturity for a shinobi was much lower than that of a civilian. A first generation shinobi would have maturity at the age of fifteen. Those shinobi descended from shinobi, whether they be clans or not, would have a maturity at the age of eleven. It was the reason why that was the graduation age of the academy.

Naruto had been training nonstop, constantly getting stronger and stronger for the first four years of his training. Then when he gained the Sharingan, the training increased even more. Using the Sharingan's ability to copy Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, Naruto could instead focus on mastering that instead of learning.

Last year they travelled to the Land of Iron so that Naruto could begin learning Kenjutsu and just like with Fuinjutsu, he took to it like a fish out of water. It was only in the past year that they had begun taking missions so that Naruto could gain real world experience.

The only area he hadn't improved was his control over Kurama's chakra. Even with Kurama working alongside him, it was still incredibly potent and poisonous for his chakra coils. He would have to wait until he had hit puberty before he could fully begin to gain control of its chakra. As of right now all he could do was channel small amounts into his body to increase all of his fitness capabilities.

If things continued, eventually the only thing he could improve would be his skill. That alone could make him a powerful shinobi. That was until Naruto reached puberty and then nothing would stop him from becoming one of, if not the greatest shinobi.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

To Naruto, the journey was long and uneventful. Unable to learn anything new, only able to make sure that his current skills stayed at their current level. That was one of the reasons why Naruto had spent most of his time this year doing missions. Without the ability to improve his skills, he felt no need to spend his time at the cabin.

Proper missions were in short supply as legally, he wasn't a Konoha Shinobi and therefore wasn't allowed to do ranked missions. That's why, Naruto was registered as a mercenary under the employee of Konohagakure.

In that time, Naruto had been all over the Elemental Nations completing missions and killing traitors of Konohagakure. However, due to the work of Jiraiya, his spy network and the Sandaime his exploits had been kept quiet from the rest of the Elemental Nations.

The two of them were currently entering the Land of Lightning. Their destination was Kumogakure. There, Jiraiya would deliver the heads of their latest kill. A Kumogakure Chunin that had killed her fellow teammates escorting valuable information on the Daimyo's palace's defences. If this had gotten in the wrong hands it would have damaged the reputation of Kumogakure, but would have left it weak until a new Daimyo was elected.

Thankfully Naruto, who had memorised the Bingo Book had recognised her instantly and sprang into action. The fight had been quick, she had all but surrendered when Jiraiya revealed himself. Allowing Naruto to quickly separate her head from her shoulders.

The village gate reminded him so much of Konoha, though the gates of Konoha could have change since the time he had been away.

"Halt." One of the gate guards commanded, Jiraiya and Naruto did so. "ID is needed for you to enter Kumogakure." He added. Nodding his head, Jiraiya pulled out a single card and showed it to the gate guards.

"The kids with me." Jiraiya said and the guards agreed with him.

"You will need to speak with the Raikage before you can conduct any business in the village, but I'm sure you already know that." The second guard added.

"Alright then Naruto. Let's give this to the Raikage and then we can get out of here." While Jiraiya had nothing against Kumo or its people, the longer they stayed here, the more likely someone was to connect the dots between Naruto and Minato. If they connected those dots, then it wouldn't take long until the entire Elemental Nations heard of it.

The walk was quick. Thankfully it was early morning, six o'clock to be exact. Due to the higher altitude the air was thin, but the sun was out much sooner. The Raikage tower, much to Naruto's curiosity was exactly the same as the Hokage's. Maybe all the Kage's had their towers built by the same person.

His belief in this was further cemented when he saw the design of the office itself. Exactly the same, except with different colours as the Hokage's.

Another difference was the man sat behind the desk. He was over six feet in terms height of pure muscle and had black skin colour. His outfit consisted of a white haori, large golden vambraces on both wrists, he also wore a golden belt, torn shinobi pants, and Kumo shinobi styled shin guards and sandals.

"Jiraiya-dono. It is good to see you again." The Raikage inclined his head as a sign of acknowledgment. Jiraiya returned the nod with one of his own.

"And it's good to see you as well, A-dono." The **Gama Sennin (Toad Sage)** took note of A's eyes flickering towards Naruto and widening ever so slightly in shock. "This is my apprentice, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Uzumaki?" Jiraiya had to stop himself from wincing at mentioning Naruto's last name. He should have remembered that while A was against attacking Uzugakure, he was also a rival of both Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. Both had been the only Shinobi to ever defeat him. Minato in a match of speed, and Kushina in a match of durability. Of course he would recognise Naruto's last name. "Tell me boy, who are your parents?"

"I do not know, Raikage-sama." Naruto informed and the Raikage nodded his head, but the brown skinned Kage gave Jiraiya a glance.

"That is fine. Now, why did you come here?" Jiraiya had to supress a smile, unlike the other Kage's who spoke in riddles, the Raikage didn't beat around the bush. He wanted answers that were simple and straight to the point.

"We came to deliver this." He pulled out a scroll and placed it on the desk. As soon as it happened, killing intent was directed towards him and Naruto. Behind the two, a small group of ANBU shinobi appeared and pointed their blades at Jiraiya and Naruto's vital organ.

"How did you come by this?!" The Raikage stood up abruptly, his right hand slamming into the desk cracking it, but not destroying it completely

"We had assumed you knew. One of your Chūnin killed her teammates and was planning to give this to Iwagakure from what we remembered." Jiraiya informed and while not fully believing Jiraiya and Naruto were still guilty.

"She's in your Bingo book to prove it." Naruto added on. A studied them both before pulling out a book from his draw. He flicked through it for a few minutes before grunting.

"I did not know of this, or the mission that authorised such a low level protection." He placed the book on the table. "You have my thanks for returning this information.

"Meh, its fine." Jiraiya waved him off. "Naruto, why don't you look around the village for a while?" Naruto slowly nodded his head and left the room leaving the two adults in the room.

"So that's Minato and Kushina's kid? What? Don't act so surprised, he looks exactly like Minato and the only Uzumaki I know close enough to Minato, is Kushina." There was a pregnant pause as Jiraiya seemed to tense. "Don't worry, his secret is safe with me. I never hated the two, I respected them. I want to see if their kid will be just as good as them, can't do that if he was killed by Iwagakure shinobi."

Jiraiya once again nodded his head and allowed his form to relax.

"I'm also guessing he is the Jinchūriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko." Again, Jiraiya tensed, but this time his eyes hardened, reminding everyone in the room that Jiraiya was a Kage level Shinobi that had survived through two wars. "Am I wrong?" A questioned.

"You are." There was more silence as the two stared at one another. "What do you plan to do with that information?"

"Nothing."

"Come again." A chuckled in amusement at seeing the shock on Jiraiya's face.

"Nothing. I will do nothing. Though I would like to see how he stacks against a Jinchūriki of my own choosing."

"He wouldn't stand a chance against your brother."

"I know. I was thinking the Jinchūriki of the Nibi, Yugito Nii." Jiraiya pondered this for a few moments. He could see the pros and the cons to agreeing to this. Well, the pros and the con. The pros was that Naruto would find someone near his age of equal strength and would also be able to see where he needed to improve himself. The con would be the fact that, Kumo a relative wild card so far would be aware of his abilities. That was a dangerous thing in this world.

Jiraiya stood there for a few moments, slowly contemplating the offer before nodding his head in agreement. It would be good for Naruto to not only meet another Jinchūriki, but know how to fight one. The theoretical side only worked for so long.

"Well then, find your apprentice and I shall organise for the stadium to be prepped for the battle."

"Will do." Then Jiraiya performed a quick _Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)_ _._ Leaving the Raikage alone in his office, slowly a smirk came across his features as he stared at where Jiraiya once stood.

 _'Naruto Uzumaki. Let's see if you have the potential to surpass your parents.'_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

After leaving the Hokage tower, Jiraiya didn't have a clue on where Naruto could possibly be. He looked around the civilian district of the village, then he searched the military district, before going to even the red light district.

It was only when he felt a brief flare of chakra that he instantly recognised as his apprentices. Sighing as trouble found his godson once more, Jiraiya shot off in the direction that the chakra flare came from.

What he found was something he expected. His student fighting against Kumo shinobi. Giving another sigh, Jiraiya jumped down into the area and instantly took note of Naruto and his attackers where in. As soon as they saw him they stopped and looked towards him in shock.

Naruto was stood, his blade in the air as he held back a single brown skinned young girl with red hair, who was trying her hardest to cut Naruto in half vertically. In his other hand he held a kunai, which was stopping the sword of a brown skinned boy with white hair. A little ways away, another Kumo shinobi with blonde hair, cut short with breasts already beginning to develop had just cut through one of his apprentices clones.

"Sup Ero-sennin. Took your time didn't you." Naruto commented jokingly while jumping back and landed beside his godfather.

"What happened here?" The elderly man asked in amusement. Naruto himself, snorted at the thought of how things came to be the way they were.

 ** _Flashback_**

 _Exiting the Hokage building, Naruto allowed his mind to wonder as his body took him on a quick stroll. His mind was alight with new ways to become stronger. It was the only thing he seemed to think of. It was the only thing he wanted to do, grow stronger and stronger so that no one could rip those precious to him, away from him._

 _"Oi, civilians aren't allowed over here! So get lost!" A feminine voice exclaimed angrily. Snapping back to reality, Naruto took in his surroundings to see that he was in a clearing. A training ground no doubt._

 _His eyes then trailed towards the origination of the voice and there he saw a young girl around his age. She was brown skinned with short, spiked red hair with a bandana holding it back. On her back was a small wakizashi. Look at her facial features he could see that she was angry for some reason. Instantly his mind deduced that she was hot headed much like he used to be. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"_

 _"Come on Karui, he's probably lost." A brown skinned boy with white hair and something in his mouth tried to reason. "Let him go."_

 _"No. Civilians aren't allowed here, that's the law. Always has been always will be." Karui continued heatedly._

 _"Is that how you treat your civilians in Kumo?" Naruto asked with a raised brow. Behind the two he finally took notice of another girl. She didn't have the brown skin of the other two and had shortcut blonde hair. He also took note of her developing breasts and the cold gaze she regarded him with._

 _"What'd you say?!" Karui stalked forwards gripping the handle of her sword tightly until she came to a stop in front of him._

 _"You heard me." Naruto smirked at her, loving the reaction he got out of her. "It's funny really, you preach about been Konoha's equal and yet, Konoha treat their civilians much better than you treat yours. Looks like Konoha will always be better than you." Karui snarled angrily._

 _"That's it you peace of shit!" She drew her sword and went to strike at the Uzumaki only to find that she couldn't move her hand any further. The sharpened edge of her sword stopping just inches away from his head. "What the hell!"_

 _"Did you really think that someone as weak as you, would be able to hurt me?" He regarded with cold indifference, but also arrogance to damage her pride. It was a simple mind game, drive her mad with anger so that she is more likely to make mistakes._

'Oh god, what do I do?!' _Omoi thought in panic._ 'Karui's gone and fought this guy we know nothing about. What if he's a Kage's apprentice and takes u captive or worse, kills us?! What if this guys the son of a Daimyo?!' _There was a few more imaginative 'what if' scenarios that went through his mind. Then his eyes flickered towards the other person._ 'Samui's not doing anything, but Karui.' _His eyes then flickered towards the redhead to see her thrown away like a rag doll._

 _The redhead landed on her back with a grunt before getting to her feet. With a roar she charged forwards and went to strike him once more, but Naruto shifted to one side. Due to this unexpected action, Karui stumbled forwards._

 _"What are you two doing? Help me bring this fucker to Raikage-sama, he could be a spy!" Karui roared before sprinting towards him._

 _Seeing this, Naruto summoned his blade from the seal in his wrist and held it by his side. The brown skinned Kunoichi faltered before continuing her movement. His eyes instantly picked up movement from behind him and saw the boy running at him. His sword also gripped tightly in both hands._

 _Summoning a clone to stop the boy, he turned to face Karui and raised his sword blocking her downward slash. However, he quickly had to react and pull a kunai from his pouch using it to hold a second sword at bay._

 _Looking towards the holder of the sword he saw it belonged to the boy._

 _Due to the lack of memories meant that his clone hadn't been dispelled, but it was currently been preoccupied. He assumed it was due to the second Kunoichi._

 ** _Flashback end_**

"I leave you alone for ten minutes and you already get into a fight." Jiraiya sighed and shock his head causing Naruto to give a sheepish laugh. "Anyway, we gotta go back to the village and wait for a bit."

"What for?" Naruto questioned curiously. All the while the three young shinobi watched on curiously.

"A's ordered a match between you and a shinobi of his choosing." Nodding his head, Naruto used the _Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique_ _)_ to exit the clearing. Jiraiya meanwhile looked towards the three shocked young shinobi. "I would suggest not attacking my apprentice again. I can tell by the lack of headbands that you are still in the academy, no matter how skilled you are. My apprentice would destroy you without much effort on his part."

Karui growled but withheld herself from attacking the legendary shinobi, Samui gave nothing away and Omoi bowed his head in apology. Seeing this, Jiraiya nodded his head and disappeared the same way Naruto did.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Yugito Nii, the Jinchūriki on the Nibi growled as she felt the corrosive chakra of the Biju inside of her coursed through her body. Even now, at the age of fourteen and having trained for three years to learn to use her Biju's chakra and still it caused her pain.

Slowly she willed it to disappear and once it did she dropped to her knees panting heavily. The strain of using such chakra exhausting her body to its limits.

"Mind telling me why you came here even though I said I don't want to be disturbed, C?" A blonde Kumo Jonin appeared from the treeline and looked at Yugito with amusement in his eyes and posture.

"Raikage-sama wants you to go to the stadium, you have a fight." Groaning, Yugito got to her feet and stared at C. She rolled her eyes internally when she saw the way his eyes roamed over her body. Even though he was five years older than her he was still attracted to her. But she knew it was only lust and not love. Call her old fashion, but she would only be with someone that loved her.

 **"You should just take him for a ride kitten."** And there was her perverted prisoner and friend, Nibi. Ever since C's attraction to her had been made clear, Nibi had been telling her to have sex with him. Something she vehemently refused to do so.

 _'No, Matabi. I'm only-'_

 **"Going to have sex with someone who loves me. Yada, yada, yada."** Nibi mocked in her best attempt of Yugito's voice. **"You can be really boring sometimes."**

"We best go, Yugito-chan." The Kunoichi in question nodded in agreement and the two quickly ran towards the stadium. It didn't take long, despite been exhausted from using her Biju's chakra. However, she could already feel her chakra and stamina been replenished. If she continued travelling at the current speed then she would be back to full strength in a matter of minutes.

When they arrived at the stadium they saw that people were already filing into the stands. She was quite surprised to be honest, while the people of Kumo didn't hate her, they didn't necessarily like her either. Only B, the Jinchūriki of the Hachibi was loved by the populace. So she didn't know why so many people were coming to watch the fight.

Probably to see her opponent, or at least see a Kumo shinobi defeat another shinobi. It could be either or both. Yugito didn't know.

"Yugito." Turning around, the Nibi Jinchūriki turned to see the Raikage and surrogate father stood giving her a small smile.

"Raikage-sama." She bowed and when she rose she had a smile on her face. One mirrored by A, who in turn indicated with his head for C to disappear. The Kumo Jonin did so and as soon as he was gone, Yugito embraced him.

Chuckling, the Raikage held her at arm's length and regarded her for a few moments before frowning.

"Nibi's chakra is still causing you pain?"

"Hai, I'm training as much as I can, but every time I use it, the pain only gets worse." Instead of seeing disappointment on her surrogate father's face, she saw pride. In her.

"It seems you're ready for the next stage of your Biju training." That made her smile return full force. "After this, I will recall my brother from his mission and have him take you to Genbu."

"Who exactly am I fighting?" The Nibi Jinchūriki questioned gaining a smirk from the Raikage.

"Naruto Uzumaki, apprentice of Jiraiya of the Sannin." The mention of the legendary shinobi shocked her. The man's last apprentice had become the most infamous living shinobi, capable of wiping out an entire army of Iwa shinobi in a matter of moments. She couldn't imagine what another apprentice would be careful of. "Remember your training."

Taking a deep breath, Yugito prepared herself for the oncoming battle.

"Good luck." Nodding her head, Yugito entered through the front entrance and made her way towards the centre of the stadium. Meanwhile, the Raikage watched her leave, his mind thinking on what this would do for her.

 _'This will be good for you, Yugito. It will remind you not to forget your shinobi training.'_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

He had only been laid on the ground for around five minutes when the stadium started filling up. It took another couple of minutes until his opponent arrived and he took note of the natural grace in which he walked.

 _'Almost catlike.'_ Naruto said mentally earning a snort from his companion.

 **"What do you expect, she's the Jinchūriki of the Nibi, who takes on the appearance of a flaming cat."** Kurama snarked. Giving a click of tongue, Naruto stood up and turned to face his opponent.

 _'Shut up Kurama no Baka.'_

 **"Who you calling Baka, ningen!"** Kurama roared and Naruto raised his pinkie to clear out his ringing ear. **"Don't you dare try and mute me you motherfu-** Whatever Kurama was about to say was stopped when Naruto cut off their connection. It had become a sort of routine for the two, both dissolving into an argument and then Naruto cutting the connection.

"Talking with the Kyubi?" Yugito asked. Naruto nodded his head and gave an exasperated sigh gaining a small laugh. "They don't know when to shut up, do they?"

"Nope. With the Kyubi, it's all about how great and powerful he is. About how I should feel honoured to be even talking to him. You get the picture." Yugito nodded her head.

"Nibi's a pervert. Plain and simple." This time Naruto laughed making her smile.

"Jiraiya-sensei's a pervert. No, he's a self-proclaimed super pervert." They could hear a faint 'damn straight' shouted from the crowd and both shook their heads. "But I think yours is worse than mine."

"Oh yea, I have to deal with the Nibi and her perverted thoughts whenever she sees a decently attractive guy or girl." Snorting in amusement, Naruto turned to face the proctor of their match. He was brown skinned and silvery white hair extending down to his shoulders with his left eye completely covered.

It was only then that they realised that they had missed the Raikage's speech completely.

"This is so dull." Yugito and even Naruto sweat dropped at the lack of enthusiasm in his voice. "Are you both ready? Well then, begin I guess." As soon as those words were said, whatever friendliness was between them was put aside. Neither of the two dared move before a single coherent thought of acting was shared between them.

Yugito went to charge forwards, but stopped when she saw him form five clones. One clone charged forwards first and Yugito met his charge. Yugito opened up with a roundhouse kick that the clone rolled underneath into a crouch with a shuriken in between each finger.

A quick flick and eight shuriken flew towards the female Jinchūriki. Smirking, Yugito pulled out two kunai and went to parry them when she heard the clone say five words that made her quickly leap out of the way.

 _"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)."_ Those eight multiplied into hundreds that Yugito only just managed to get out of the way. But every time she moved into the safety of one wave, another would come towards her. While not necessarily important, it allowed Naruto to see how agile and fast she was.

 _'I'm getting sick and tired of this. I can't go in for the original as I will be left open to his clone and I'll also be outnumbered.'_ Yugito couldn't see any other way to get to the original without getting rid of his clones. That in turn meant using chakra and allowing the original to see her fighting style.

 **"You've got no choice kitten. He's young, around ten or eleven which means…"**

 _'He can't use his Biju chakra properly.'_ The Nibi Jinchūriki leapt backwards avoiding another wave of shuriken her mind focused on what she had figured out. Due to his young age, Naruto was limited to less than a tails worth of chakra. She however was capable of using all two tails worth of chakra in the first version form and only single tail of chakra in a the second state.

 **"Exactly kitten, now go get him."** Grinning, Yugito charged towards the clone. Rolling underneath another wave before appearing behind the clone. A few seconds later it disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Smirking, Naruto nodded his head in her directions and two more clones shot forwards.

The first to reach her lashed out with a flying sidekick which Yugito stepped to the side avoid. Before she could take it out, the second clone gripped her wrist stopping her punch in its tracks. A sidekick to her stomach from the first clone knocked her to the ground and Yugito had to roll backwards to avoid an axe kick that would have crushed her head.

Following this she leaped backwards while simultaneously throwing kunai of her own. A wakizashi summoned by the second clone knocked them all to the side with the first continuing her charge towards her.

The clone went for a straight jab that Yugito ducked underneath before driving her fist into his stomach. The clone went up in a cloud of smoke and in doing so blinded her temporarily. This left her open to the jumping roundhouse kick that collided with her face.

The original Naruto meanwhile, watched Yugito engage his clones. They didn't last much longer and Yugito turned to face him. He smirked when he saw her panting just a little heavier. While he wasn't one to think of plans before he went into a fight. That didn't mean he wouldn't fight before he thought of a plan. No he created a single plan and if that didn't work, would then think of plans on the go. It had worked for him well so far. Why change it?

With another nod, the remaining two clones charged forward, both running through a set of hand seals.

 _"Katon: Zukokku (Fire Style: Intelligent Hard Work)!"_ The two shouted at the same time and with it, two balls of flames rushed towards Yugito. The Jinchūriki in question had just finished forming her own hand seals.

 _"Nezumi Kedama (Mouse Hairball)!"_ Hair shot forwards from her mouth before taking the shape of a mouth engulfed in flames. Naruto at first assumed the mouse would collide with his two fireballs, instead it split apart into multiple smaller mice and shot around them.

Straight towards him.

Reacting quickly naruto jumped backwards and watched as three exploded as they touched the ground. He had to manoeuvre his body as quickly as he could to dodge the remaining mouse's that shot towards him.

Landing on the ground Naruto summoned five clones and used them as a meat shield to slow the advance of the mice.

As soon as the smoke disappeared he instantly leaned backwards to avoid a swipe of Yugito's left hand. Time seemed to slow down as he watched her nails lengthen before everything sped up again. Pain was the first thing he felt, but he allowed his instincts to take over and lashed out with a kick to her sternum.

Grunting, both Jinchūriki jumped backwards to put distance between the two of them, both nursing their respective injuries. Naruto the claw marks on his face and Yugito rubbing her chest.

Both shared a smirk and Naruto summoned his sword into his hand, while Yugito flexed her claws dangerously.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Jiraiya grinned madly as he watched his godson smile happily. He knew from experience that the look on Naruto's face was an indication of him enjoying the way the fight was going. Not many opponents had given Naruto this much of a challenge and while the fight was just beginning, he knew that Naruto was pushing himself to the limits.

"Your apprentice seems to be enjoying himself greatly." A stated gaining a nod of the head from Jiraiya.

"Yes, can't blame him though. If there's one thing Naruto loves more than training, it's fighting. Kid gets scarier and scarier the longer and harder a fight gets." A hummed as he watched Naruto and Yugito clash in a show of steel and nails. Sparks flying off as tiny cuts began appearing on their bodies. But the smile on both their faces only grew larger and larger.

"True, Yugito is much the same in some cases. Though she isn't one to enjoy fighting at the start." Jiraiya chuckled as he watched Yugito been forced backwards as Naruto's greater skill with the blade become almost deadly. Deeper and more cuts got through her guard and Yugito could do nothing but manoeuvre out of the way as best as she could.

"It seems Uzumaki is getting the advantage."

"Yes. While Yugito is faster and stronger giving her the advantage in Taijutsu, Naruto is very skilled with a blade. Could give even Jonin a run for their money in terms of skill."

"That's to be expected is it not? An Uzumaki's Kenjutsu style makes even Genin level Uzumaki a Jonin Kenjutsu user a challenge." Jiraiya nodded his head amusement.

"I remember when Kushina-chan first arrived to the village, still in the academy and completely destroyed two Chūnin in a straight up Kenjutsu fight." Both men chuckled at the thought of the fierce red head doing what Jiraiya had said. "He emulates both his parents perfectly."

"That he does, Minato's looks and calmness. With Kushina's brash and love for close combat."

"Let's not forget her durability." Jiraiya added, just as they watched Naruto take multiple hits before slamming the handle of his blade into her face.

"We can't forget that now can we."

In the room next door, C clenched his fist tightly. His eyes narrowed on the form of Naruto as he watched him say something that made Yugito laugh. Laugh! No matter how much tried, C had never gotten Yugito to laugh at something he said. All she ever did was brush him off with cold indifference and yet this outsider, makes her laugh with barely any effort.

He hated it, what made the boy so special that he got the Raikage to respect him, Jiraiya of the Sannin to train him and Yugito to smile. It wasn't fair. They had been teammates, it should be him that she should smile and laugh at. Not the outsider.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Darui couldn't stop himself from smiling as he watched his friend and teammate smile. Not even when they were teammates did she smile like that. His eyes unconsciously trailed towards the Jonin box where C was stood.

 _'C ain't gonna be happy about this.'_ His friend like to believe that he was in love with Yugito, but that wasn't the case. C, like many other men only wanted to earn the right of 'banging the demon.' Groaning at the thought of what his friend might do as a result. _'This is so dull.'_ Though there was one good thing coming out of this.

Yugito would gain a wakeup call. Three years ago, Yugito had always focused on growing stronger on her own. However, after becoming Chūnin Yugito had become more focused on her learning to control her Biju's power. Now she was low Chūnin in terms of strength without her Biju, hopefully this would be a wakeup call that would remind her that the stronger her own abilities were, the stronger she would be when she used her Biju's power.

He whistled when he saw Naruto swing his sword sending a wave of flames towards Yugito at point-blank range.

Darui had to admit that this fight had been incredibly interesting so far. Both had an edge over the other. Yugito was more skilled in Taijutsu, Naruto in Kenjutsu, Yugito in Fire Style Ninjutsu, but Naruto's larger chakra reserves made him better overall. Both were rather weak in Genjutsu due to their lack of using it, all that remained was seeing about the final aspect. Biju chakra.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Naruto and Yugito pushed against one another with as much strength as they could muster. Yugito's claws crossed over as she held back Naruto's blade. The two stood there for a few moments before both jumped backwards.

Smirking at one another, they both waited and took account of each other's injuries. Yugito's hair had at some point been cut loose allowing to flow freely down her back, her pants were cut resembling tattered shorts and her top ad multiple cuts and tears. Her smaller wounds had been healed, while the larger are deeper ones seemed to have been cauterised. Though blood still stained her clothes.

Naruto on the other hand seemed to be as good as new. It would have looked like he was uninjured, but the mutliple cuts and tears in his shirt revealed that he had in fact been injured.

 _"Katon: Karyū Endan (Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)!"_ Yugito and Naruto roared and from her mouth a large amount of flames raced forwards, taking the shape of a dragon as they did so. Naruto wasn't finished, knowing full well that Yugito's dragon would overpower his own easily.

 _"Fūton: Reppūshō (Wind Style: Gale Palm)!"_ The wind burst from his clone's hands and combined with dragon increasing its power and speed. When the two dragons met, both went up in an explosion of flames. It still shocked him to know that it took a wind powered fire technique to match Yugito's own techniques.

Not allowing Yugito to get in close, Naruto and his clone ran through more hand seals.

 _"Katon: Haisekishō (Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning)!"_ Yugito knew how dangerous this technique was, having heard tales of it been used by the Sandaime Hokage in all three Great Shinobi Wars. Rushing towards it, she threw her kunai towards the left before performing a quick Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique) to escape the blast.

This left her open to the next attack.

 _"Raiton: Hebi Mikazuchi (Lightning Style: Snake Thunder)!"_ From the originals left hand a bolt of thunder taking the shape of snake shot forwards and struck Yugito. With a scream, the Nibi Jinchūriki was flung backwards before rolling to a stop.

Groaning, Yugito pushed herself to her feet, her body still steaming and her hair slightly frazzled. Blowing some hair out of her eyes, she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Do you have any idea how long it takes me to get my hair straight. Then you go and mess it all up." Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto allowed his body to relax and Yugito followed his lead. Then she took note of his uninjured state. "It's unfair you know. Your healing ability, it's unfair." Yugito spoke up gaining a chuckle from Naruto as he rolled his shoulder. A pop sounded as Naruto groaned.

"We're shinobi, we don't fight fair." It was Yugito that laughed this time.

"True, true." The two smiled as they felt their blood pumping in preparation. "In that case. Allow me to show you what I have accomplished." She crouched and her hair began waving in the wind. Her canines lengthened into fangs as her eyes seemed to glow an even darker shade of blue. Naruto instantly took note of this and tensed in preparation, but even he was unable to react quick enough to stop the punch that slammed into the side of his face.

The force behind it lifted him up off his feet and temporarily he froze in the air before been flung backwards.

With a grunt he hit the ground and skidded and rolled along the ground. Gritting his teeth, Naruto embedded his blade into the ground and he slowed down. Coming to a stop he was once again unable to do anything as Yugito kicked him in the chin.

Slamming into the wall, Naruto spat out some blood and watched Yugito walk towards him slowly. Outwardly he looked to be in a great deal of pain, inwardly however, he was waiting for the correct moment.

 _'How much longer Kurama?'_ Naruto asked mentally.

 **"Not long, your injuries are almost healed."** There was a few more minutes as Naruto kneeled on the ground panting heavily as the crowd roared happily at seeing the unknown shinobi been defeated by one of their own. **"You're done."**

 _'Thank you, Kurama.'_

 **"Hmph, don't mention it."**

"You've lost Naruto. Don't continue, I quite like you." Smirking Naruto pretended to shakily get to his feet.

"Thanks, but no thanks." Then Naruto punched her unexpectedly. There was a snap as Yugito stumbled backwards and then the Kyuubi Jinchūriki followed up with a drop kick to her chest launching her further away.

Both got to their feet and stared at one another before Yugito began laughing.

"You were already healed weren't you?"

"Yep, just waiting for you to get close." At that, Yugito's grin became downright devilish.

 _'Ready Matabi?"_

 **"Give him hell, kitten."** Nibi said in agreement and from Yugito's body, power unlike anything Naruto had thought possible burst forth. A blue cloak of bubbling energy formed around her and from it a single tail took place.

"So this is a Biju's power." Naruto whispered in shock. In his training he had barely been able to bring out half a tails worth of chakra and even then it was only for a short period of time. Yet Yugito was able to bring out an entire tail without any strain. Grinning at the thought of a proper challenge, Naruto ripped off his tattered hoodie and mesh armour. While he wasn't overly defined, for a boy his age he had a fair amount of muscle.

The one thing that stood out the most was multiple seals decorating his body.

"Thanks for the strip show, I guess." Snorting amusement, Naruto formed the ram seal before a few of the seals glowed brightly, before disappearing. "And what exactly did that accomplish?"

"Weight seals." That little piece of information made her freeze slightly in shock.

 _'He's been fighting this entire time with weights on?!'_

 **"Oh kitten he is perfect. Strong, smart, and in a couple of years' time he will be quite handsome."** Despite herself, Yugito blushed. There was something about Naruto that was incredibly attracting, his blonde hair, blue eyes and incredibly adorable whisker marks were part of that attraction. So was his strength. But the main thing was the way in which he didn't ogle her unlike every other man. She wasn't vain, but she knew that she was beautiful. However, that had made it incredibly difficult to find a man who wanted her for her, and not how she looked.

Her teammate, C liked to believe he was that man, but he wasn't. He was just like the rest of them.

"You ready Yugito?" Smirking, the two shot forwards at great speeds.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Samui smiled as she watched Karui and Omoi sit there in shock as they watched the boy they had assumed to be a spy evenly fight their friend Yugito. All of them knew in a straight up fight, only Samui could match Yugito, but even she would lose eventually.

"You just had to go and start a fight with him didn't you, Karui?" Omoi said while said girl glared at him.

"How was I meant to know that he was this strong?!" Karui shouted at Omoi and before another fight could start, Samui intervened.

"You weren't, he knew that he could beat us and he played with us. Made us believe we had a chance so that he could figure out how we all fought before revealing his true power." Her voice was cold and indifferent, much like her eyes. Giving a click of her tongue in annoyance, Karui sat down and watched as Yugito began using her Biju chakra.

"Kick his ass Yugito!" Karui exclaimed much to the agreement of the crowd as they too cheered for the Nibi Jinchūriki. Even Omoi was cheering beside her as they watched Naruto get knocked around.

Samui however, watched in a calculative fashion as she studied Naruto. She could tell Naruto was waiting for something, his lack of action proved that line of thought. It was once again proven when Naruto knocked Yugito back.

"What the hell happened?!" Sighing at her teammate's brashness, Samui explained it for the red head.

"He was waiting for her to get arrogant before striking. A simple tactic used to turn the tide of a battle if done correctly." Her interest in Naruto was peaked the moment she saw him at the clearing, more so when she saw him fight Yugito evenly. Now as she watched him reveal the fact this entire time he had been fighting with weights made her interested on him completely.

 _'Uzumaki Naruto. Let's see what else you can do.'_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Grinning, Naruto gripped Yugito's fist in one hand before throwing one of his own. The Nibi Jinchūriki's head whipped to one side, but she went with the momentum and spun round and performed a flawless spinning back fist. Placing one foot on her stomach, Naruto pushed off her and back flipped slowly through the air.

 _"Fūton: Kūki Dan (Wind Style: Air Bullets)!"_ Multiple bullets of compressed air shot towards Yugito who barely jumped out of the way in time, though one skimmed her arm and launched her to the side.

Using this, Naruto shot forwards and did a quick jab-cross-jab to her stomach and then a spinning hook kick to her temple. He went to continue after her however, the area he stepped in exploded. Using this temporary distraction, Yugito shook her head and allowed more Biju chakra to circulate through her body.

Slowly a second tail formed and Yugito winced slightly as she felt it temporarily burn her. That feeling soon faded as her body grew accustomed to the potent chakra.

When the smoke cleared, she saw Naruto lower his arms, as his pants were now shorts and burnt at the ends. She tensed as she crouched into a position. The ground beneath her feet cracking and crunching.

 _'He's open.'_ She thought.

 **"Wait kitten…"** Whatever Matabi was going to say was cut short as Yugito shot forwards. It was only when the elder Jinchūriki got close to the younger did she see the smirk on his face. Seals on his body glowed before disappearing and Naruto leaped out of the way just as Yugito punched the air in which he once stood.

Yugito spun round and went to strike once more, but found herself unable to move. Looking down she saw chains slowly slithering up her body like snakes. Thrashing around as she tried to break free. It didn't work as they chains only tightened.

"There's no use." Naruto said as he slowly ran through a set of hand seals allowing her to see each one. "The more you resist the tighter they get." He then came to a stop and crouched down. The chains dissipated and Yugito shot forwards but ran face first in a pale blue shield. _"Uzumaki Fūinjutsu: Tsu no Pointo Fūin (Uzumaki Sealing Techniques: Four Point Seal)."_

"You planned this." Her voice was filled with realisation as she looked at the barrier.

"Yep, but I'm not done." Then he went through another set of hand seals before the five points inside the barrier glowed blue. _"Uzumaki Fūinjutsu: Gogyō Shūsoku Fūin (Uzumaki Sealing Technique: Five Elements Convergence Seal)."_

Five seals all positioned in a way that resembled a star glowed blue, in the centre of each one were five different kanji. Each of them for one of the five elements. Fire, wind, water, earth and lightning. From each an attack belonging to that element shot forwards towards a single point, the area where Yugito was stood.

There was a loud explosion and the entire stadium shook for a few moments as smoke covered the inside of the seal.

When it dispersed it revealed Yugito on her knees bleeding heavily with chains once more

"I'm going to repeat what you said to me. You've lost Yugito. Don't continue, I quite like you." Despite the situation, Yugito smiled, but then she frowned when she felt the chakra cloak around her weakening.

 **"It's the chains, kitten. They're absorbing your chakra."** Matabi informed making her eyes widen in shock.

"I'm guessing you've figured it out?" Naruto asked rhetorically. "You see, the one thing that makes these chains so deadly is not the fact that they can bind a person completely and I can control them at will, but because they only require my chakra to create them. After that they use the targets own chakra to keep them active when he or she is bound." There was silence as the two stood their panting as the crowd waited with baited breath for the next part.

"Proctor." Darui looked towards the kneeling Yugito. "I surrender." The two shared a nod and then Darui announced the victor.

"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha." There was silence before the civilian sector of the crowd cheered loudly for a well fought match. Even the shinobi gave a polite clap as a sign of respect for the two young shinobi.

Smiling, Naruto walked towards Yugito as his chains dissipated from around her form. Yugito returned his smile and took his hand as he helped her onto her feet.

"When did you place the seals down?"

"Throughout the fight. Before the fight I placed a seal on the ground that acted as a sort of camouflage for any seal placed on its surface. Then whenever I placed my hand on the ground I would draw part of the seal combination onto it. And due to the camouflage seal-

\- I never knew." Yugito finished. "Gotta admit that's good."

"Thanks."

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Grumbling in annoyance, the Raikage handed over a large roll of money into the awaiting hands of Jiraiya. The eldest of the two men laughed uproariously as he counted the money greedily.

"Like I said A, you don't bet against my apprentice and hope to win. Even if the odds are stacked against him, he'll find a way to win." Sighing, A stood up and Jiraiya copied him

"I will admit, I was too caught up in their fight to notice him place the seals on the ground." Jiraiya nodded his head in agreement, he too had nearly forgotten about that.

"Like a wise man once said. Never enter a battlefield were an Fūinjutsu master has had time to set up. And while my godson is no Fūinjutsu master, you allowed him time to set up for a battle. While it looked like the two were equal. Yugito was dancing to his tune the entire time."

"Just like his mother and father liked to do." Snorting Jiraiya walked out of the room followed by the Raikage.

 **A/N: Sorry about the late update, but I hope you enjoyed it like I enjoyed writing it. If you did please leave a review to tell me what you thought and also if you have any improvements. It doesn't have to be much, just a simple 'Good chapter.' Anyway thanks for reading this.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Shinobi no Kami**

 **Chapter 4**

 **A/N: I'd like to thank Torrhen Stark, shapeshifter340, anarion87, Iviidiis, rockskidd, hennessyswagg83, bankai777, the death bringer779, Phantomsoul2015, animeficfan, Lazymanjones96, JSua, ThatCrazyBrit94, HenryPeverell864, Ataxius, Chaos537, Spark681, xirons20, Kickinstorm, diegokpo30, Guest, Mayonaka no taiyo, shapeshifter340, BlackDragonShinigami, , CrazyRuSH, lostxinxthexdarkness, jordanelow and DanielHimura for your reviews.**

 **hennessyswagg83:** **I will be touching more on the Uzumaki clan, in fact I plan to do an entire arc based on the Uzumaki clan. Though that will be some time after the Sasuke Retrieval Arc.**

 **Now for the pairing with Naruto.**

 **1)** **Harem: 37 votes.**

 **2)** **Samui: 36 votes.**

 **3)** **Kurenai: 34 votes.**

 **4)** **Yugito: 30 votes.**

 **5)** **Anko: 28 votes.**

 **6)** **Mei: 27 votes.**

 **7)** **Hinata: 26 votes.**

 **8)** **Ino: 16 votes.**

 **9)** **Karui: 12 votes.**

 **10)** **Sakura: 2 votes.**

 **So it's a harem for Naruto. I've already placed another poll up that will give you the choice on who is in the harem. However, Samui and Kurenai are already in due to them having the next highest votes. I'm sure that isn't what some of you wanted, but you can be guaranteed that there will only be five people in the harem.**

"Normal speech."

 _'Normal thought.'_

 **"Demon speech/translations."**

 ** _'Demon thought.'_**

 _"Jutsu."_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

It was quite warm in **Hi no Kuni (The Land of Fire)**. In fact only **Kaze no Kuni (The Land of Wind)** beat it in terms of heat. It was something Naruto had always found confusing until it had been explained to him.

Hi no Kuni, Kaze no Kuni, **Kaminari no Kuni (The Land of Lightning), Mizu no Kuni (The Land of Water) and Tsuchi no Kuni (The Land of Earth)** had been named such after the most common elemental affinities. For example, in Hi no Kuni the most common elemental affinity is fire, but in Kaze no Kuni it is wind.

It made things much more understandable.

"Gaki, looking forwards to seeing Konoha again?" Jiraiya asked as they walked side by side through the forest. Neither were in any particular rush to get to Konoha, the memories of what that place had done to Naruto were still fresh in their minds. However, it was still their home and the home of their parents, therefore it was their home as well.

At the age of thirteen, Naruto had changed quite a bit despite it been only two years. He now stood at a height of 5''6 with a lean yet, tone figure. His blonde hair had grown slightly, now reaching down to his shoulder blades with it styled to the left so that it came down past his eye.

For his outfit, it was similar to his old one though he had changed the top half of it slightly. Gone was his hoodie, instead it was replaced with a simple black V-neck shirt and a slightly tattered cloak over the top.

Over the past two years the training he had undergone had once again been upped. Physical training and Ninjutsu training had been out hold to instead focus on Chakra Control and learning to utilise the Kyūbi's chakra. That didn't mean he had completely given up on the two as he would still keep his weights and his resistance seal on and would occasionally have to increase them, though nowhere near at the same rate as he previously had done.

Due to the seal his father had created to hold the Kyūbi back, also syphoned off some of its chakra and would continue to do so until he reached the age of twenty. This meant that every day he would have to spend hours and hours continually gaining control of his chakra because his chakra levels never stopped growing. Even without the Kyūbi's chakra mixing with his own he would still have incredibly large chakra reserves. Mix the Kyūbi's with it and Naruto had gained incredibly large, dense and potent chakra.

While his chakra control was quite difficult to train due to his ever increasing in reserves. Learning to use the Kyūbi's chakra was much easier. With Kurama assisting him and not trying to possess him he was already able to use two tails worth of chakra.

"Meh, some people I can't wait to see again. The rest; not so much." Jiraiya chuckled at the response given by his apprentice. Before the two could continue, they found themselves looking at the gates of Konoha.

Both shared a glance, Jiraiya's filled with concern for his godson. While he knew Naruto hadn't been in the village for a while, he just hoped that the villagers had forgotten about what he held or learned the difference between the two. If not, well he just hoped that Naruto could beat them all or hold them off until help came.

"Halt – ah, Jiraiya-sama! You have returned!" One of the gate guards exclaimed in shock at meeting one of Konoha's strongest shinobi. The Chūnin had brown hair and black eyes with his right eye covered by his hair. He wore the standard Konoha Shinobi outfit, but his forehead protector was worn like a bandana.

"Yea, me and my apprentice are gonna go see Sarutobi-sensei." The two men nodded their heads as they observed the master and apprentice duo walking past them. They barely even recognised the passes been shown to them by the two before they had entered the village.

"Hey, Izumo." The man in question turned to face his partner. He had long spiky black hair and black eyes. Over his face ran a single strip of bandage with a coloured marking on his chin that was the same colour as his hair. He too wore the standard Konoha Shinobi outfit.

"Yea Kotetsu?"

"Wasn't that Uzumaki?" Izumo studied the figure belonging to Jiraiya's apprentice and slowly nodded his head.

"I think it is, yea?"

Kotetsu grinned and leaned onto the station. "Kakashi-san is gonna be happy he's returned."

"Yea, but once the villagers realise who he is they won't be very happy." Izumo added, but Kotetsu shrugged his shoulders not really caring for the opinion of the villagers. None of the Shinobi did, except for those who had no Shinobi parents.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

The journey to the Hokage's office. Thankfully none of the villagers had recognised him at all. This made the journey a little easier however, Naruto still felt his anger brimming just underneath the surface of his clam façade. It was only the occasional glance from his godfather and the words of how they weren't, 'worth it' from Kurama that kept him calm.

Yet, as he watched how the civilians continued to live their happy lives. Smiling and laughing as if what they did to him never mattered.

 _'I don't get it Kurama. How can they act like they never nearly killed me?'_ Kurama sighed as he heard Naruto repeat the same question for umpteenth time. It was really starting to get on his nerves.

 **"I don't know kit, but you better stop asking before I drag you in here and slap you repeatedly."** Naruto gave a small smile at the odd way in which Kurama expressed that he cared. **"I've seen you ningen do many atrocious things in my time. What they did to you is one of them and I've never been any good at helping people. Just take the advice that the old man gave you before you left with the pervert. Don't hate them, pity them."**

 _'Fine, but if they attack me I'll kill them.'_ Naruto informed his tenant.

 **"I'd be disappointed if you didn't."** Before the two could continue their talk, they had finally reached the entrance to the Hokage's office. Looking towards Jiraiya, he saw that his godfather wasn't there.

"Come in." Opening the door, he stepped inside to see four people stood before the Hokage. One he easily recognised as a Jonin, while the other three he assumed to be Genin.

The four figures turned around and stared at him, while he did the same. The first one he took note of was the final Uchiha and younger brother of Itachi. He had black eyes and dark hair with a blue tint to it. He wore a navy blue, short-sleeved top with the Uchiha symbol emblazoned on the back with a high collar, white shorts and white arm warmers.

Next to him was a young girl with long pink hair and emerald eyes. She wore a red qipao dress with sits along the side and a white circular pattern on the front. On the other side of the Uchiha was pale skinned with dark hair and eyes. He wore a short, dark grey jacket and black ANBU pants. Strapped to his back was a Tantō.

Next to the pale skinned Shinobi was their Jonin sensei, someone he recognised instantly. Kakashi Hatake, S-class Shinobi and known throughout the world as **Kop** **ī** **Ninja no Kakashi (Copy Ninja Kakashi).** He still hadn't changed since he last saw him. He still wore the standard Konoha Shinobi outfit.

"Hello Naruto-kun." Hiruzen greeted with a grandfatherly smile on his face. Naruto bowed lowly before turning to face Kakashi with a smile on his face.

"It's good to see you again Kakashi-nii." Kakashi gave an eye smile.

"And you too Otouto. You've grown." Meanwhile, the three Genin watched the interaction between the three people with close scrutiny. Kakashi had always been kind to them, but Sasuke had seen the way he kept distance away from them. To see Kakashi refer to this unknown boy the same age as him as 'little brother' was shocking.

 _'So this is the Ky_ _ū_ _bi Jinch_ _ū_ _riki.'_ Sai thought as his eyes trailed over the form of the Jinchūriki. He would admit that he was intimidated and wary of the boy that was the same age as himself. His very being exuded power that shouldn't belong to someone of that age. _'Danzo-sama will want to be informed of his arrival.'_

"Naruto-kun, where is Jiraiya?" Hiruzen asked as he saw his student wasn't present.

"Right here Sarutobi-sensei." Jiraiya proclaimed from his position on the window. Naruto smiled at the casual greeting of his sensei, while Kakashi nodded his head in the man's direction, something which was returned in kind. Sasuke and Sakura meanwhile, went wide eyed at the sight of a legendary Shinobi, something which Sai tried to recreate but failed miserably at.

 **"Kit, that kid doesn't have any emotions. I can't sense any."** Naruto turned to face Sai and saw that he despite the emotion he was displaying it was a lie. He could fool every Genin and maybe a few Chūnin, but he couldn't fool a Bijū that had the ability to sense the emotions of everyone within the range of his senses. A range that spanned the size of the village twice over.

 _'I'll keep an eye on him.'_ Naruto shut the connection down between him and Kurama before focusing entirely on the people in the room.

"Team 7, you are dismissed." The Hokage informed the Genin and team and they left. Naruto turned to face the door for a few moments before turning to face the Hokage once more. "You can leave if you wish Naruto-kun." Smiling Naruto nodded his head and waved to the two men before opening the door to leave. "And Naruto-kun, it's good to see you again."

"You too, Jiji." Smiling at the nickname he had sorely missed, the Sandaime then turned to face Jiraiya.

"So, how has he been?" Hiruzen asked curiously. The welfare of his surrogate grandson had always been in his mind ever since the incident eight years ago.

"Kids been well. He's still angry with the villagers, but he's willing to keep it professional though if they attack him he will deal with them in a way he feels fit. Best warn the villain council about that part." Hiruzen smiled and while he was a bit upset about the killing part, he couldn't fault Naruto. In fact, he probably would have done the same.

"I will be calling a meeting in a few days, I will warn them if they plan to mistreat him in anyway will result in their business been put under new management." Hiruzen informed with a smile growing on his face.

Jiraiya snorted in amusement before walking towards the couch. It was subtle and most Shinobi would have missed the movement of his wrist. The ANBU didn't and disappeared from the room at the sign of a dismissal. Each confident that the combined might of Jiraiya and the Sandaime would easily hold off any assassin. Hiruzen meanwhile pressed his hand against a seal on the desk and channelled some chakra into it. All over the room, a complex sealing array formed and with it the two began talking more in depth on Naruto's development.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Naruto and Kakashi had arrived at Training Ground 7 within a matter of minutes after leaving the Hokage's office, Kakashi's students having left to do their own thing. Now the two were stood in the training ground talking about what they had done in the last few years.

It had been a shock to learn that his last two surrogate big brother, Itachi and Kakashi had become S-class Shinobi. Even more so when he had learned that Kakashi was a Hokage candidate and had even be asked to take over the position numerous times but had declined each and every single time. As a form of revenge, the Sandaime had forced him to take on a team.

"I'm gonna say, you never struck me as a teacher Kakashi-nii." Naruto jokingly said and Kakashi gave an eye smile.

"Ma, ma. I can teach it's just I none of the academy students were the one I wanted to take on as a student." Naruto smiled at hearing that Kakashi wanted to take him on as a student. "But it seems Jiraiya-sama beat me and took you on as his apprentice."

"You can still teach me, Kakashi-nii!" Naruto protested. "Ero-sennin is one of the strongest Shinobi alive and you are near in terms of strength to him."

"That's where you are wrong Otouto." Kakashi corrected and took a seat on the ground. Naruto copied him. "While I'm ranked as an equal to Jiraiya-same, that is farther from the truth. I could probably defeat him in Taijutsu and Kenjutsu, but when Jiraiya-sama uses his Jutsu and everything he has in his repertoire, coupled with his experience he would completely destroy me. It'd be like a fight between a Genin and a Jonin. He would play with me for a bit before crushing me."

This admission from his brother was shocking to Naruto. Was the gap between Jiraiya and Kakashi that big? He had always known that his godfather was strong, but hearing it from someone else was shocking and to hear how much stronger was even more so. In a fight between himself and Kakashi he would lose as soon as Kakashi took him seriously in fact, most B-ranked Shinobi would beat him as soon as they got seriously. The only reason he had beaten B and even A-ranked Shinobi before was because they never took him seriously from the beginning.

It was said that the difference between a B and A-ranked Shinobi was only experience. The difference between an A-ranked Shinobi and an S-ranked Shinobi was the same as a difference between a Genin and Jonin. A big difference.

In terms of skill, Naruto could safely say he was definitely C-ranked. To finally realise how big of a gap there was between himself and Kakashi, and in turn Jiraiya was daunting. How could he possibly stack up against monsters such as them? Kakashi saw this and smiled internally. His little brother was finally realising that rank meant nothing, only skill counted.

Naruto clenched his fist tightly, but before he could think on it anymore he felt a hand placed on his shoulder. Looking up he saw Kakashi giving him his trademark eye smile. Then with his spare arm he passed over a piece of black cloth.

Taking it, he looked at it and then turned to Kakashi in confusion. "What's this?"

"That Otouto, is a facemask of the Hatake clan." Shock coursed through him in waves. "In fact, that was my fathers. I want you to have it. Wear it with pride and know, that even if you're not my little brother by blood, that you will always be a member of the Hatake clan."

Once again he ducked his head to hide the tears that threatened to spill. Smiling Kakashi ruffled Naruto's hair and stood up. He turned around and made to leave so that he wouldn't be late for his meeting the other Jonin-sensei's, but Naruto stopped him.

"Wait, Kakashi-nii!" Naruto exclaimed and was relieved when Kakashi turned around. "Can we spar, I want to get stronger and I need to learn my limits. Plus, I'm getting bored of having my ass handed to me by Ero-sennin every day." Smiling Kakashi nodded and felt his chest swell with pride as he looked at the facemask covering the bottom half of his little brothers face.

"Ready yourself, Otouto." Kakashi warned and lowered himself into Hatake clan's signature Taijutsu style, the _Yasei no Sutoraiku (Feral Strike)._ Naruto nodded his head and dropped into his own style. "Lesson one: Taijutsu." Then the two shot forwards, Kakashi notably faster, but holding back as to not end the fight prematurely.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Kurenai was angry, Asuma was annoyed and Gai was being…well Gai. The three had been waiting for Kakashi for about an hour (A/N: The fight between Kakashi and Naruto only began ten minutes ago, and hasn't being going on for an hour). Now the three were walking towards where Kurenai had sensed Kakashi's chakra signature.

While she wasn't a sensor, Kurenai had learned to pick up on chakra signatures. This was different to an actual sensor as they would be able to tell the emotions of a person and what they were doing, some even had been able to predict what they were doing and read their mind based entirely on their chakra signature.

So the three had set out for training Ground 7 so that they would drag to the Akimichi Barbeque so they could discuss their Genin and see who was currently in the lead for the bet.

The bet in question was one to see who had the best Genin team by the end of the year. Gai however, was not part of this due to his team having an additional year of pure training and missions, but he still joined their conversations and acted as the neutral party in the dealings.

Currently, Kurenai was in the lead due to the fact she was the only one who taught her team anything. Kakashi and Asuma left their teams to do their training on their own. Something that incredibly annoyed her. On top of that, Kakashi had the nerve to make her wait for an hour with a man who was dead set on getting in her pants despite her lack of interest and a man child obsessed with youth. Oh yes, she would have her revenge whether he be an S-ranked Shinobi or not. It mattered little to her.

Now imagining the surprise of the three of them when they saw Kakashi currently engaged against a young blonde boy no older than thirteen.

They both moved with such speed which was shocking.

 _'What speed?!'_ Kurenai thought in shock as they watched the two blurs that were Kakashi and Naruto. Occasionally they would be nothing but black blurs, then they would appear and appear once more in a fierce bout of Taijutsu.

 _'The strength of this kid is insane.'_ Asuma had to remove his cigar from his mouth lest it drop to the ground, his mouth to wide to keep it there.

 _'So this is your Otouto, his flames of Youth shine brightly!'_ Gai exclaimed internally, not wishing to distract the two Shinobi from their current fight. He watched as Kakashi lashed out with a roundhouse kick to Naruto's head, something the Kyūbi Jinchūriki just managed to block. Even so the force lifted him off his feet, but before he got too far away he threw a kick of his own that Kakashi easily knocked away.

Spinning through the air, Naruto landed on his feet before disappearing and appearing in front of Kakashi with one fist drawn back. The Jonin ignored the feint and grabbed his little brothers left leg. Naruto went with the momentum and spun round with his last remaining leg. Only for Kakashi to catch that two.

 _'Now what do you plan to do, Otouto?'_ Before he could think any further he saw the smirk on Naruto's face followed by the build-up of chakra. Followed by Naruto exploding.

It was only due to _Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique)_ the allowed him to escape unharmed. Couldn't beat the basics.

Walking forwards, Naruto and Kakashi found themselves back where they started. This time however, their breath was bit deeper. Not much though. Kakashi had barely put any effort into the fight, sure he had put more in that when he fought his Genin team, but enough to still making him slightly out of breath. Naruto on the other hand had put every bit of effort he could into that singular bout and it was only due to his nearly limitless stamina that kept him from passing out straight away. Not only that, but his weight and resistance seals were already released as too match his brother speed.

"Well done, Otouto. Very good, Jiraiya-sama taught you well." Kakashi praised. Meanwhile, Asuma and Kurenai felt like they had a bucket of cold water poured over them. The kid before them was the student of Jiraiya. They had heard rumours that he had taken on another student, a student that fought the Nibi Jinchūriki and came out victor, but they hadn't thought it would be the kid before them.

"Thanks, Kakashi-nii. You're not so bad yourself." Naruto channelled Chakra into the seals on both palms and in a cloud of smoke, Shuriken appeared in between his fingers. There was but a split second wait before Naruto launched them all towards Kakashi. But more and more appeared from the seals in his palms until over a hundred of the deadly projectiles where flying towards the S-ranked Shinobi. However, he didn't seem scared in the slightest and instead he calmly summoned his father's blade into his hand. The _Hakk_ _ō_ _Chakura T_ _ō (White Light Chakra Sabre)_.

It hadn't taken a while for the pieces of his father's blade to be put back to together into the famous blade it once was after he broke it in the Second Shinobi World War. It had been done though and he had token up Kenjutsu once more and surpassed his old level of strength.

While he was nowhere near the level of a Kenjutsu master, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist or Kushina for that matter. He was strong enough to hold them off, if not beat them when combined with the rest of his skills.

He prepared himself and waited until the first wave got close before calmly parrying and blocking each and every single one of them. He would occasionally dodge a few that he could not, but the rest he easily managed to remove. Then came the second wave, this time he noticed the subtle lightning sparks over them.

 _'Raiton!'_ He felt like a kid in a candy store when he realised that Naruto had the same elemental affinity as himself. If only he knew.

This time he had to be more careful and put a tiny bit more effort into the fight as a result of the Shuriken been sharper and faster. The process repeated with Naruto incorporating wind and then using _Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)_ into the next two waves.

Then came the fifth and final wave, and with a shout of _Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Style: Fireball Technique)_ and multiple Shuriken were encased in a single fireball that had a diameter of Kakashi. There ten in total and Kakashi smiled proudly before jumping backwards, his hands blurring through a series of hand seals.

 _"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Bullet Technique)!"_ From Kakashi's mouth mutliple bullets of water shot forwards and collided with the fireballs. Both techniques blanketing the area in hot steam.

Once again, Kakashi had to use _Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique)_ to remove himself from harm. He whistled in amazement as he heard the tell-tale sign of shuriken embedding into wood with a "thunk" noise. The accuracy of the Shuriken was quite frankly terrifying.

 _"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)/"Raiton Jibashi (Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder)!"_ Kakashi turned wide-eyed to stare up at the dragon rushing towards him, its watery form covered in electricity.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

As the fight had progressed, the three had found themselves more and more shocked by the power shown to them by the young boy. Gai had always known that Naruto would have been powerful, in fact he expected it. What with the boy been a Jinchūriki and an Uzumaki. That alone with him been trained by Jiraiya would have turned any average Shinobi into a top-class Shinobi. But to see just how powerful was shocking and he was excited to see just how powerful the boy would become as he grew older.

Kurenai and Asuma were in varying states of disrepair. To them, it shouldn't be possible for anyone to be this powerful at the age of thirteen. To be able to make ten extremely condensed and hot fireballs was incredibly difficult for any Shinobi with a **Katon (Fire Release)** was hard. Most only succeeded in making them bigger, but not hotter and to do that you had to condense the fireball.

Then for the boy to follow up with a large dragon that towered over the trees and coated in electricity was no easy task.

"How is this possible?" Kurenai asked breathlessly as she watched Kakashi backpedal from the dragon. She could tell he was thinking on how to combat against the dragon. It never ventured to far from Naruto as its tail had formed a shield around Naruto's body meaning its range was limited.

However, when Kakashi got too far away physical clones would appear. Some were _Kage Bunshin's (Shadow clones),_ some exploded and the rest were a mix of the elemental clones.

"There's no way he should have this much Chakra, it's just unreal." Asuma's cigar had long since dropped from his hand and he was too busy watching the fight before him to do anything about it.

"The amount of Chakra the boy has is not the problem here Sarutobi-san, he's beating Hatake-san!" Kurenai all but exclaimed. Her voice never raised in tempo though her voice was laced with hysteria. Gai on the other hand turned to them, his face uncharacteristically serious.

"Kakashi isn't losing this fight." He informed them sternly. "Far from it in fact."

"How does that," he waved his hand towards Kakashi who's cloths were slightly singed from a _Katon: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Fire Style: Shadow Clone Technique)_. He then spun round and dispelled mutliple shadow clones with a single kick. "Look like he isn't losing. The kids had him on the back foot ever since he started spamming Shuriken." Kurenai nodded her head in agreement and narrowed her eyes at Naruto in the cocoon of water and lightning. She could just make out the sight of him bent over and doing something to the ground.

"Because Kakashi isn't using his full power. In fact since this fight started, he has only used a quarter of his full strength." Gai would know, he was the only one in the village besides the Sandaime that could force Kakashi to use his full power. Even then, Gai had to use the _Hachimon (Eight Gates)_ to do so.

Kurenai and Asuma turned back to the fight with a new sense of fear for their fellow sensei. They both knew Kakashi's reputation. The way he copied his enemy's techniques in battle and then used those same techniques to kill them. They had heard how he knew over a thousand jutsu and was one of Konoha's most prominent figureheads and a Hokage candidate.

They knew that there was monsters out there. Shinobi so powerful that they could take on entire battalions of Shinobi and come out unscathed. Kakashi was one of them and they realised that despite been nonchalant most of the time, underneath it was a monster just waiting to be unleashed on the world.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

 _" Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)!"_ From Kakashi's mouth a large blast of wind struck the dragon and travelled all the way down its body. The water that once made it collapsing to the ground in puddles.

Naruto however, was unperturbed by this as he had just finished his sealing array. Now he needed to move onto another positon and do the same again. He already had three parts of the seal done. The area that he and Kakashi had been sat n had been the area he had put the first part of the seal. The area where he had gone toe to toe against Kakashi in Taijutsu had been where he had put the second and now where he stood was the third part.

Just two more to go and he would be done.

Kakashi had just finished dispatching the rest of his clones before the two were facing off against one another once more. This time they were both gripping the handle of their blades in one hand.

There was no signal. No sing of the Kenjutsu battle beginning. One moment they were separate and the next they were pushing against one another. Naruto with his blade held vertically and Kakashi's horizontally. However, Naruto felt himself sliding backwards and he dug his feet into the ground as to try and stop himself from losing any more ground.

"Lesson two: Ninjutsu. You pass." Kakashi spoke up gaining Naruto's attention. He grit his teeth as his footing nearly left him and he was pushed backwards further. Kakashi even going as far as to take a step forwards. "Lesson three: Genjutsu." Cursing Naruto closed his eyes and jumped backwards.

Channelling Chakra into them, his eyes snapped open ad easily dispelled the Genjutsu that had surrounded him.

"With these eyes, Kakashi-nii. I can see everything you just did." Naruto proclaimed and gripped his blade tighter. Kakashi meanwhile raised an eyebrow at the odd looking Sharingan. Unlike his it seemed that Naruto could turn them on and off at will, but he also kept features from his previous eyes. The reptilian pupil was still present with the tomoes surrounding it. In his opinion it was much cooler than his own.

"Oh, looks like you got a bad case of pink eye." He gave an eye smile when he saw the twitch of Naruto's eye. "Ma, ma. No need to get so angry Otouto I'm sure it will go in time."

 **"Bwahahaha!"** Kurama's laughter ringed in his head and Naruto winced at the unexpected noise. **"Pink eye. Classic."** There was more laughter from his tenant and Naruto had a mental image of him wiping tears of laughter from his eyes with a single clawed finger.

 _'Shut up Kurama no Baka!'_ Naruto shouted internally, but Kurama continued to laugh. _'I don't know if you looked in the mirror recently, but your eyes are the same colour as your own. So you have pink eye as well you lazy bastard.'_ That shut up the Kyūbi.

With that said and done, Naruto shot forwards and engaged Kakashi in a clash of steel. They were practically dancing all over the training ground as they blocked, parried slashed and hacked at one another. While Kakashi was sturdy, barely moving and utilising his superior physical capabilities and experience to not do very much in the way of work. Naruto on the other hand was testing out his new Kenjutsu style.

It was nowhere near completion and used the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)_ in conjunction with the Uzumaki Kenjutsu style. The Uzumaki Kenjutsu style had no name, but it involved multiple aspects of other Kenjutsu styles and also a lot of acrobatics to surprise and put the enemy off-balance.

 **"Kit."** Naruto flipped and slashed at Kakashi, landing on the ground in a crouch the dived forwards with his sword pointed directly and spun madly.

 _'What is it Kurama?'_ Rolling on the ground, Naruto back flipped and lashed out with a double footed stomp that Kakashi stepped back to avoid. Following this, Naruto spun around and went to cut his legs. To avoid this, Kakashi jumped into the air and kicked Naruto in the face.

 **"You better hit this pervert at least once for the pink eye comment."** Shaking his head in amusement and to clear his head, Naruto spat out some blood before rushing to engage Kakashi once more.

 _'Oh don't you worry, I will get him at least once before this fight ends.'_ Kurama and Naruto gave a similar grin that no one could see due to the mask, but they felt it.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in surprise when he felt the oppressive Chakra come forth a tiny bit. No one other than them could feel it due to it only been a small amount, but it was enough to make a difference. All of his physical capabilities had been augmented and it showed when Kakashi just barely managed to raise his blade and block a strike. Even when he did he was forced backwards.

Then things began to change. The tempo of the match swinging in favour from Kakashi to Naruto. Every time Kakashi blocked one strike he would have to quickly react and block another strike. The process repeating and putting him further off-balance.

A lucky kick from Kakashi forced Naruto backwards, but he felt a small sting of pain from his left arm and leg. Then more and more.

Looking down he saw small cuts and tears in his outfit, with some bleeding lightly. Not enough for him to worry, but enough that it made them sting and bleed. Looking up, he turned to stare at Naruto with a proud gaze.

"Very well done, Otouto." Kakashi congratulated. Naruto smirked and formed the ram seal and with it a barrier formed.

 _"Uzumaki Fūinjutsu: Tsu no Pointo Fūin (Uzumaki Sealing Techniques: Four Point Seal)."_ Naruto spoke calmly before he placed his hands on the ground. Inside the admittedly large blue barrier, five seals glowed brightly. _"Uzumaki Fūinjutsu: Gogyō Shūsoku Fūin (Uzumaki Sealing Technique: Five Elements Convergence Seal)."_

From each seal, the five elements sprung forth and converged on Kakashi just like they did with Yugito and the ground shook as a result of the explosion. When the smoke cleared, all that stood in the centre of the seal was a small smoking crater and in that was the splinters that once belonged to a log.

Naruto gasped as he felt cold steel placed against his neck. Freezing, he slowly rose and heard Kakashi say, "I win." Naruto smirked and from his back five Chakra chains shot out and pierced through Kakashi, only for a log to take his place once more.

He looked round to see Kakashi sprinting towards him and Naruto copied him, his chains shooting forwards and piercing through the clone. Lightning coursed down his chains and struck his body. With a groan of pain he dropped to the ground, his form steaming. The two hands burst from the ground and gripped his legs and pulled him into the ground till only his head remained free.

Naruto was about to free himself though he stopped when he once again felt a kunai pressed against him, this time against the top of his head. Meanwhile, his eyes stared along the length of Kakashi's sword.

Groaning he admitted his defeat and pulled himself free, the he asked the question that had been on his mind for the past couple of seconds. "When did you use the _Kawarimi no Jutsu (body Replacement Technique)?"_ Kakashi eye smiled.

"Just as you formed the ram seal. I recognised the build-up of Chakra to realise you were going to use Fūinjutsu." He had spared against both Minato and Kushina, masters of Fūinjutsu to know when the subtle art was going to be used. Nodding his head, Naruto grinned when he took in Kakashi's state.

"Got you a few times though." He grinned though all any one would see would be an eye smile similar to Kakashi's.

Ruffling Naruto's hair, the two began walking towards the village. "That you did Otouto. Meet me here at around five every afternoon, I finish teaching my students then so I can then focus on teaching you a few things." Naruto nodded his head happily.

"What do you actually teach your team?"

"Well, the council are forcing me to teach the last Uchiha so they can have another powerful Shinobi, but all I do is give him a scroll from the library with a basic technique on for him to learn. I refuse to teach him anything more than that until he can overcome his hatred. What the council don't realise is that if I teach Sasuke as he is, he will grow too powerful and we could have a repeat of his brother." Naruto winced at the reminder of how one of his older brother figures had gone insane and killed his entire family. It was a reminder that been introduced to the world of the Shinobi too early, with no real attachment and too much responsibility is not good.

"What about the others?" Naruto looked towards Kakashi to see him reading a little orange book, the same book his godfather is the author. Seeing that Kakashi was reading while walking, Naruto decided to copy him just like any younger brother did when their older brother did something. His book however, was on Fūinjutsu and not porn.

"Sakura is a fangirl and has no desire to learn so I'm not going to force her. If she expresses any desire to learn, then I will gladly teach her. Until that point I'm not doing anything." Kakashi paused in his speech to give a perverted giggle that made Naruto sweatdrop. "As for Sai, he is more focused on drawing in his booklet and prefers to train alone." He decided to forgo the piece of information about Sai been a member of **Ne (Root).**

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

"Are you pleased with how strong my student is now, Danzo?" Jiraiya questioned with a certain steel to his voice that demanded Danzo not question him any further. Speaking of Danzo, the man had come to join their conversation around halfway through and had been quite patronising to Jiraiya. Something that got on the nerves of the **Gama Sennin (Toad Sage).**

To pacify both men, Hiruzen had used his crystal ball to watch the fight between Kakashi and Naruto. It had been quite surprising as hearing and seeing about something are two very different things.

"Yes. Very much so." Neither Jiraiya nor Hiruzen liked the way in which Danzo spoke. While Danzo had been working together with Hiruzen for the past eight years to improve Konoha's infrastructure, economy and overall military might. He was still very much the shadow of the great tree that was Konoha. He thrived in shadows and no one could tell what Danzo had planned.

"You wouldn't happen to have anything nefarious planned, would you Danzo?" Hiruzen pressed and Danzo stared at the two who were stronger that he would ever be.

"No, the Kyūbi Jinchūriki is a powerful Shinobi who will walk in the light, not the shadow." Not many people would get the reference Danzo had made, but Hiruzen and Jiraiya were not most people. Both sagged in relief at the admission that Danzo would not be trying to get control of Naruto.

Hiruzen then turned to face his student. "Now tell me Jiraiya-kun, do you think Naruto-kun is ready for the Chūnin exams?" Jiraiya looked at him in amusement and chuckled slightly.

"You're asking me that, even though you just saw what he can do. The kid is a monster for his age, he has his father's ability to soak up all the knowledge and his mother's desire to perfect everything and anything she learned to its fullest. If the kids not ready then most Chūnin aren't deserving of their title." Hiruzen smiled thinly.

"You know what I mean, Jiraiya-kun. Been Chūnin is about more than just skill and power. It's about how you use."

"And that's why I repeat what I said. If the kids not ready then most Chūnin aren't deserving of the title." Nodding his head, Hiruzen leaned back and then interlocked his fingers together.

"He will enter the tournament on his own and will be registered as your apprentice. I want the basics of his skills logged into our Shinobi Registration, I want you personally overseeing this Danzo." There was a pregnant pause. "Not too much, but just enough that it shows he is a powerful Shinobi." Danzo bowed and left the room, while Jiraiya left to go find his godson.

 _'Orochimaru, let's see how you plan to get around this obstacle.'_ He had no doubt that they had a spy in their midst. No doubt the spy would sneak in and join the Genin in the Chūnin exams to observe Sasuke Uchiha. However, Orochimaru would never invade Konoha without a backup in place for every prominent Shinobi they had. With a Jinchūriki competing, the spy would definitely try and get every bit of information he could and then some.

He had made a mistake by allowing Orochimaru to escape and that mistake had haunted him ever since. It was time for him to rectify the mistake once and for all.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

The next few months had been interesting to say the least for Naruto. All of Konoha was getting prepared for the Chūnin exams. Merchants, civilians and nobles from all over the Elemental Nations had been pouring into Konoha in droves.

In that time Naruto had been training non-stop so that he could show the true power of Konoha and the Uzumaki clan to the world. The world had forgotten about his clan and Konoha had been severely weakened after the Third Shinobi World War, the Kyūbi attack and the loss of the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

They had recovered however, Kakashi and Maito Gai had both joined the ANBU – again in Kakashi's case – and had become S-ranked Shinobi that were feared throughout the Elemental Nations. Even more so when they worked together. In fact when fighting alongside one another, they had been labelled a SS-ranked tag team. The second team in existence beside the current Raikage and his brother to gain such notoriety.

Speaking of his training, Naruto would spend the first few early morning hours training alongside Maito Gai himself and his young lookalike, Rock Lee. It had been difficult and Naruto had been shocked to find someone over than himself so motivated to grow stronger. In fact, Rock Lee was the only one who beside Yugito near his age that he could go all out against. The extra challenge had been welcomed greatly.

Afterwards he would use Training Ground 43 and 44, where he would train alongside the Tokubetsu Jonin Anko Mitarashi, also known as the _Konoha no Hebi Aijin (Snake Mistress of Konoha)._ The two had met when Naruto had been fighting a group of Chakra mutated spiders. After defeating them he had come across a stash of Dango. He had been hungry so he ate them, when he was on his last one Anko arrived and attacked him without warning.

It had been a close fight, but Anko beat him and then every day after that she had been there to meet him and train with hi.

While his clones would improve his Chakra control, Fūinjutsu, Ninjutsu, Kenjutsu, Taijutsu and learning to use more of the Kyūbi's Chakra. The original would switch between sparring with Anko, playing tag with her summons to improve his stealth and fighting the multiple Chakra mutated creatures in the Forest of Death.

Then he would rest up for a bit before going to meet with Kakashi. They would start things off with a spar before Kakashi would teach him more Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. One thing Naruto realised was that he would always be an amateur Genjutsu user, never excelling at it.

It didn't bother him because with the Sharingan coupled with his massive Chakra reserves and Kurama he could break out with any Genjutsu, no matter how complex or powerful.

Jiraiya however, had been absent for the past month. His reasoning being that he had business outside of Konoha to deal with. Naruto didn't mind as it didn't affect his training much, plus he could tell his godfather was anxious about something.

Now he was walking towards the Academy building where the first part of the Chūnin exams would be held. His outfit hadn't changed at all, except for the fact he had decided to keep the facemask given to him by Kakashi, the Konoha headband wrapped around his neck and now had a second blade, a Tantō hidden underneath his cloak, while his katana was sealed away in his wrist like usual. Anko pointed out that people will prepare for him to unseal his weapons and that he should always have weapons hidden on his person and not just in seals.

His katana had been too big to hide, therefore he had gotten a Tantō as a second blade. He even began learning the Hatake clan's dual bladed Kenjutsu style and the Uzumaki Kenjutsu style. His dream was to combine the two to make a much better and more dangerous style.

Walking into the building he clearly saw a few Genin from multiple villages walking around in the academy. There was a lot of teams from Konoha, a few from Suna, Ame, Taki, Kusa and Oto despite it been a new village. The final village making his eyes narrow in anger as he recognised the music symbol from the strange six armed individual that attacked the village.

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto walked through the crowd of people and walked up two flights of stairs and made his way across the corridor to the stairs on the other side. He never understood why the put the stairs in the opposite side to the floor below, but he didn't really care either. On his way he drew a few looks due to him been alone however, he barely spared them a glance.

"Ah, Naruto-kun!" Naruto smiled before schooling his features. He wiped out a book from thin air and continued walking. "Naruto-kun!" Then Lee appeared in front of him a large toothy grin plastered on his face. Behind him he could see Lee's two teammates, Neji Hyūga and Tenten Higurashi.

It took a lot of effort to restrain a smile as he copied his older brother perfectly. Right down to the dull and bored tone in which he spoke his rehearsed line. "I'm sorry, did you say something Lee?" He turned to Lee with a bored look in his eyes and mentally cheered alongside with Kurama as they watched Lee grip his hair tightly in frustration. Meanwhile, Kakashi sneezed and suddenly felt very proud of himself.

"Ah, curse you my eternal rival and your hip attitude!" Flames burned in Lee's eyes as he stood straight. "I shall prove today that my Flames of Youth burn brighter than your calm and cool attitude!" He proclaimed earning a few odd looks from the people watching the events unfold. Lee paid them no attention and looked towards his rival only to see him gone.

Tenten tried to smother her giggle with her hand but failed miserably. She had never seen anyone do that to Lee before, not even Neji had been able to do that. Speaking of the Hyūga prodigy, he stared at the back of Naruto with some akin to interest. He had seen the way in which Lee and Naruto acted, it was almost frighteningly familiar to the interaction between Kakashi and Gai.

Izumo and Kotetsu shared a glance and grinned. "Looks like another Kakashi and Gai rivalry." Kotetsu stated. The rivalry between the Jonin rivals served as a never ending source of hilarity for everyone within in hearing range. Which was quite loud when Gai was involved.

Back with Naruto, he had made it to the classroom where everyone was meeting up for the first part of the Chūnin exams to take place. There was only three teams present, one from Konoha, one from Suna and one from Kumo.

He instantly recognised the team from Kumo as the same group who attacked him just before his match against Yugito. It seemed that they had all been put into the same team after all.

 **"Kit, the redhead from Suna."** Naruto looked towards the redhead who returned his gaze. **"He's the Jinchūriki of Shukaku."** Relaying his thanks to Kurama, Naruto took a seat at one of the desks in the corner of the room, farthest away from the door and therefore the rest of the Genin.

 _'Do you think he will be a problem?'_ Kurama hummed for a few moments.

 **"While he is the weakest of us Bijū, if you put him in area with lots of sand and even I wold have trouble defeating him in battle. Not only that, but all of his hosts have displayed great aptitude for Fūton (Wind Release) Ninjutsu and even Jiton (Magnet Release."** Naruto nodded his head at the information and looked around the room to judge who would be a challenge.

The redhead was definitely one, the blonde female from Kumo was also one. She was calm, cool and collected, something that didn't sit well with him. Only those too arrogant or strong enough weren't anxious; and she wasn't arrogant. Far from it in fact. Then there was the guy from Konoha with silver hair and glasses. Something about him didn't sit well with Naruto, there was definitely more to him than meets the eye.

Over the course of an hour the room filled up with more and more Genin until came the last group of Genin. They were loud and far too naïve to the way these exams worked. Each of them lost in their little world to notice the Killing Intent been directed at them by most of the Genin. Pitiful it was, but it was Killing Intent all the same.

Then came the glasses wearing Konoha Shinobi, who introduced himself as Kabuto. His acute hearing picked up on what they were saying. At first it was just about how they should keep the noise down and then the tenseness of the situation. The most interesting part of the young man's speech was when he introduced his Ninja Info Cards. They had been introduced to the Shinobi world in the Second Shinobi World War, but afterwards they had all but been forgotten.

"Rock Lee of Konohagakure and Gaara Sunagakure." Kakashi was right when he said that the Uchiha's voice reeked of arrogance.

 **"The Uchiha are all the same."** Naruto chuckled slightly, before listening on the information.

"You know their names and their village. That takes all the fun out of it." The glasses wearing Shinobi sighed in disappointment before pulling a random card from the pile before placing it on the ground. "Well then, Rock Lee, Genin of Konohagakure. He's a year older than you lot and is a member of Team 9 alongside, Tenten Higurashi and Neji Hyūga. He graduated dead last of his class and is currently under the tutelage of _Konoha no Kedakaki Aoi Mōjū (Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey)._ "

Silence reigned for a few moments as people recognised the name of one of Konoha's strongest Shinobi. A man feared alongside his partner, Kakashi Hatake. Many shared a wary glance with the clone of the legendary figure, believing him to be the man's student.

The young man continued. "It says he has no skill in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, but his Taijutsu skills are off the charts. Much like his sensei." Another pause, this one much shorter than the previous.

 _'I think Uchiha-chan got his ass handed to him by Lee.'_ Naruto and Kurama laughed internally at the thought of the arrogant prince getting beaten by a person with no Chakra.

" **Lee is strong for you ningen, no doubt about that, but the Uchiha's pride must be in tatters."** Kurama roared with laughter once more and Naruto had to turn the volume down so that he could hear the rest of the conversation.

"He has completed fifty-seven D-ranks and twenty-five C-ranks. And that's all that's interesting about him." Everything he had said was public knowledge or could be found by spying, which while frowned upon when doing it to ones comrades, was not illegal. So far, he didn't see Kabuto as the spy he had been informed about by the Sandaime. But there was a possibility.

 _'What'd you think, Kurama? Think he could be a spy?'_

 **"Possibly, one thing I know is that he smells like a snake."** Kurama growled in anger and Naruto turned back to face Kabuto who began giving information about Gaara.

"Subaku no Gaara, Genin of Sunagakure and youngest son of the Yondaime Kazekage. His teammates are his brother and sister, Subaku no Kankurō and Subaku no Temari. His Jonin-sensei is Baki and has completed forty-seven D-ranks, twelve C-ranks and…wow, one B-rank. But get this; he's never been touched in a fight, ever." Another pregnant pause as they looked towards the teams from Suna.

They followed the line of direction that the Suna teams were looking at and found themselves looking at an anxious guy and girl, but the middle one simply regarded the coldly.

 **"Look at the gourd on his back."** Naruto did saw and instantly he sensed Bijū Chakra fermenting whatever was inside it. **"The kid doesn't have any form of control over Shukaku and therefore is just using the racoons power and not his own."**

 _'Lucky I have a_ Bijū Chakura Haisui Fūin (Bijū Chakra Draining Seal) _for when it comes to dealing with him.'_

"I want information on Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure." Hearing his name, Naruto's head snapped up and looked to see Neji staring coldly at Kabuto. Nodding his head, Kabuto took out one of his cards and Naruto had to restrain himself from stopping the information been read out. If he did he would stop potential enemies knowing some of what he could do however, if he didn't he could once and for all know whether Kabuto was a spy or not.

"Ok then." Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "Uzumaki Naruto, Genin of Konohagakure and apprentice of Jiraiya of the Sannin." A ripple of shock ran throughout the room as they heard that snippet of information. "He recently returned to the village after eight years of training with his sensei way from the village. He is skilled in Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu, Fūinjutsu, but lacks proper skills in Genjutsu. Whoa, his Chakra pools are said to be Kage-level and has very good control over it."

With every piece of information read out, Naruto felt more and more secure in his decision that Kabuto wasn't a spy. Everything that had been said was easily found in the Konoha registration office and had Genin clearance levels. Which Kabuto had.

"It says he has done zero D-ranked missions, but has done thirty-three C-ranked, forty-four B-ranked, five A-ranked and a single S-ranked mission. He has even fought against the Nibi Jinchūriki of Kumogakure and came out as victor." That final piece of information proved exactly the opposite of what he had been thinking.

The news of his victory over Yugito hadn't been common knowledge. Only civilians and Shinobi of Kumogakure had witnesses that fight and each and every single one had been sworn to secrecy. Threat of death been the penalty. The reason for this been that Kumo couldn't allow the news of one of its Jinchūriki been defeated without looking weak.

That however, wasn't enough to fully prove that Kabuto was a spy. For all Naruto knew he had come across that information by chance. Still, he had to report anyone he believed to be a possible spy.

Kabuto was definitely that.

Things after that calmed down until kabuto said something to insult a team of Otogakure Shinobi. They attacked and Kabuto was easily taken down. Before things could progress, Ibiki Morino arrived and put a stop to everything.

Each of them where then sat into a seat and given a sheet of paper that was turned over. Naruto looked to the girl on his right hand side and saw that she was a Hyūga by the eyes though she was unlike any Hyūga he had seen. Unlike the rest of her clan, she lacked the stick up her ass, but she did have the cold glance that they always wore. However, he could tell this was a mask she put up to protect herself.

He would know, he wore a mask for the first couple of years of his life.

So lost in thought, he had missed the rules and all the warning he got was Ibiki shouting, "Begin!" Following this was the ruffling of sheets and people began to answer the questions. Some more confident than the others.

Naruto looked at the questions on the sheet and looked around. These questions were far too difficult for most Genin to answer and Naruto was many things, but book smart or tactical genius was not one of them. He could think up of plans on the fly sure, but actually thinking a plan through, step by step was something he could and would never be able to do. It was just the way he was.

 _'Kurama. Can you sense the Chakra levels of those answering the questions easily?"_ Kurama grunted as a sing of agreement before informing Naruto on his findings.

 **"They each have Chūnin level Chakra reserves, except the pink haired girl."** Nodding his head, Naruto studied them for a few more moments before it finally clicked.

 _'They're Chūnin in disguise. Each positioned in a way that allows people to copy off them.'_

As time went by and Naruto studied the room, his answer sheet forgotten he saw that multiple Genin had been sent from the room. When one tried to argue, Naruto finally realised that he had three chances before he was out. Good job he only needed one.

 **"Are you gonna do what I think you are?"** Kurama questioned.

 _'Yep.'_ He made sure to make a "popping" noise with the 'p.' He could feel the feral grin on Kurama's face, a grin that Naruto copied.

Ibiki meanwhile, knew something was wrong the moment he saw the Uzumaki kid grin the way he did. A grin so reminiscent to Anko that it was scary. He shivered at the thought of two of them running around.

The next clue something was wrong was when Naruto stood up and walked towards one of the Chūnin that were hidden. When Naruto locked eyes with him, Ibiki gave his most fierce glare with Killing Intent to make it more terrifying. The kid just shrugged it off and continued on his way.

 _'What did I expect, he's been training with Jiraiya-sama to learn to use the Kyūbi's Chakra. Of course my Killing Intent wouldn't be a match for the beasts.'_ Deciding to watch the kid, he gave a tick on his clipboard for a penalty already knowing that the kid had passed. It was incredibly amusing to watch however, when Naruto gripped the Chūnin's head and slammed in against the desk, knocking the poor man unconscious.

If the entire room hadn't been paying attention to Naruto before, they sure were now. Each watched as he picked up the sheet and walked back to his seat.

Shaking his head with a light chuckle, he ticked the kid off. The kid had balls and easily picked out the meaning of the first half of the first part of the Chūnin exams. Now it was just a matter of if he would pass the second half. From the ballsy move the kid just pulled, he would.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

In the room next door, the Jonin-sensei's all sweat dropped as a result of Naruto's actions. Some eve began laughing, Asuma was one of them. Kurenai looked aghast, but curious at the odd manoeuvre. Kakashi simply smiled and continued to read his book.

 _'As subtle as always, Otouto.'_

 **A/N: I know it's been awhile, but here it is. Chapter 4. Hope you enjoyed and if you did please leave a review. Once again, there is now a poll up which allows you to choose the final three women you want in Naruto's harem.**

 **So far, it is Samui, Kurenai **Mei, Anko and Yugito.****

 **Next chapter will involve the Second Part of the Chūnin exam and the Preliminaries. I'm thinking of doing the Preliminaries over the course of two chapters, though it depends on the word count.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Shinobi no Kami**

 **Chapter 5**

 **A/N: I'd like to thank frankieu, angel11xpr, sinedd662, Guest, Pat123, shapeshirter340, fan naruto, anarion87, Spark681, Guest, EPIC-FEIRYWOLF, Phantomsoul2015, bigfan22, Beastyd22, Guest, kamui5, Guest, Guest, DrkMidget, BlackDragonShinigami, volfwildman, ChunkyFunkyMunky, Fee-fi-fo-fum, CapriSunnyD, Clearhorse and Guest for your reviews.**

 **Sinedd662:** **I'm a little confused on what you mean about old voices, but if you mean old votes then no they don't count.**

 **Guest:** **It will be quite similar to canon in some areas, but the rest will be different. With the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, that to will change though I won't tell you what happens as to not ruin it.**

 **volfwildman:** **No, Temari won't be part of the harem because I'm a ShikamaruxTemari shipper. As for Kin, she works for Orochimaru whether it be willing or not and Naruto hates the Snake Sannin and anyone with him with a passion. And while I don't mind OC's, I don't want to add one.**

 **Fee-fi-fo-fum:** **What I'm basing the rank off isn't the power of an individual, but experience and past accomplishments that they have done. Also in terms of power, Naruto is powerful yes, and has gone up against powerful Shinobi and won in some cases however, that's only because they weren't taking him seriously. Look at the fight between Kakashi, the only time he was caught off guard was when Naruto summoned the water/lightning dragon technique.**

 **As for the harem right now it currently stands at:**

 **1)** **Mei – 145 votes.**

 **2)** **Yugito – 140 votes.**

 **3)** **Anko – 122 votes.**

 **4)** **Shizuka – 99 votes.**

 **5)** **Ino – 88 votes.**

 **6)** **Hinata – 81 votes.**

 **7)** **Tayuya – 78 votes.**

 **8)** **Karui – 43 votes.**

 **9)** **Sakura – 20 votes.**

 **So far, it seems that Yugito, Mei and Anko will be in the harem. If those three aren't the ones you want and you still haven't voted, then go do that right now. Plus, Samui and Kurenai so if those five aren't the ones you want then once again, go vote now. By the time the next chapter is out, the poll will be closed.**

"Normal speech."

 _'Normal thought.'_

 **"Demon/Jinch** **ū** **riki speech."**

 ** _"Demon thought."_**

 _"Jutsu/translations."_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Naruto shook his head as he watched more and more Genin leave the room as they gave up. He had to hand it to Ibiki, he sure knew how to test them. The final question was all about not giving up until the mission is complete even if it means death. Of course, Ibiki couldn't threaten to kill the Genin so he instead threatened their chance of becoming Chūnin.

It shocked him to know that some many had fallen for such a simple trick. Ibiki didn't have the permission nor the influence to ever make that happen. Not only that, but the Chūnin exams was just one of two ways to become Chūnin, the other way was Field Promotions. In fact, on average eight out of ten Chūnin earned their rank through Field Promotions. The exams were more just to showcase the power of the next generation to ensure the continued trade and mission influx from clients.

As he looked round the room, Naruto could tell that no one else was contemplating leaving the exams. Except the pink haired girl who seemed to be torn between giving up and staying. However, whenever she looked towards Sasuke she would flinch and lower her arm once more.

Naruto shook his head at that, teammates looked out for one another and Sasuke was doing exactly the opposite. Sakura if he remembered her name properly, was far too scared and unprepared for these exams. Even an idiot could tell that, but Sasuke was purposely ignoring that in favour himself. There was a very high chance that she would die in these exams. It mattered little to him anyway, it's her own fangirlish tendencies that will get her killed. Better here than on a dangerous mission that could potentially result in multiple deaths.

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto turned back to face Ibiki who was studying each and every single Genin.

"Alright those of you are still here…" There was a dramatic pause in which Ibiki allowed their nerves to build. "Pass." Shock and confusion were the main feelings that Kurama was feeling as a result of Ibiki's statement.

"W-wait, what about the tenth question?!" Temari shouted out her question.

"That was the tenth question." Ibiki answered. "Out in the field you will sometimes be faced with a choice, surrender or continue with the mission even if it means death. To be a Chūnin you have to know your limits, but you must also know that you must push yourself beyond those limits." It was an inspiring speech, Naruto would admit that. It would been even better had a brown ball not jumped through a window, confetti exploding everywhere and a banner saying, "Proctor for the Second Exam, the Sexy and Single, Anko Mitarashi."

Naruto snorted in amusement and watched as many of the male Genin shamelessly ogled the scantily clad Anko stood proudly before them. He was no different, but he knew how to do it differently and he had also seen Anko far too many times to be distracted by her.

"You're early Anko." Ibiki informed her.

"Oi! What the fuck, you allowed sixty-one teams to pass!" Sighing, Ibiki shook his head. "No matter. I'll cut 'em down by at least half when I'm finished." It was then Anko took note of her favourite blonde. "Oi Gaki! What'd you think? Pretty cool entrance!"

Standing up, Naruto just barely avoided the blur that was Anko before she sat on his seat. She pouted up at him, but Naruto simply shook his head in amusment.

"But Naru-chan, don't you wanna play with mama Anko." She whined pitifully. Though from the tone of her voice, most men and teens had to hold their nose to quell the blood threatening to spill free.

"I would however, you're definition of playing is trying to dismember me with Kunai or your summons." Anko puffed her cheeks out childishly as her fun was been denied to her. Before tings could continue though, Ibiki cleared his throat and Anko shot to her feet.

"Alight kiddies, get your asses moving towards Training Ground 44." Then she jumped through another window leaving the confused, terrified and some aroused Genin in her wake. Naruto shook his head in amusment and disappeared using the _Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)._ This action got the rest of the Genin moving as well.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

It took another good fifteen minutes until all the Genin that passed to arrive once more. Though three additional teams did turn up a few seconds afterwards and had been disqualified. None had argued due to the sadistic smile on Anko's face that just begged for anyone to argue against her.

Naruto then looked back towards the Forest of Death. He would admit that the oppressive feeling it gave out had made him a tiny bit wary when he first entered. However, after fighting everything that was inside Naruto learned to ignore the feeling and instead took comfort in it. For some reason it made his blood pump and Naruto was looking forwards to entering the forest.

"Welcome kiddies, to Training Ground 44 also known as the Forest of Death." There was a pause as the Chūnin hopefuls digested what she had said. "Or as I like to call it, home. Now then, for the Second part of the exams you will be given one of two scrolls, Heaven or Earth. Your task is to collect the opposite scroll to the one you have so you have a Heaven and Earth scroll. Then you go to the tower in the centre." Many people nodded at the straight forward test, some had protested at the fact they had to stay in the forest for five days with only the provisions they had.

The Akimichi was the most vocal and Naruto had to admit it was very funny to watch him deflate.

 **"Kit!"** Kurama shouted, breaking Naruto from his thoughts. Instantly he noticed the Kunai been thrown towards him. Reacting on instinct he twisted his body to the side dodging the Kunai, but just as it passed him he caught it in one hand and brought it down so that the tip was resting against the underside of Anko's breasts.

"Nicely done, Na-ru-chan." Anko purred into his ear and Naruto pressed his kunai further against her as a result of her doing the same to the kunai at his neck.

For a few moments neither did anything until Anko disappeared and reappeared in her original positon. Naruto meanwhile copied her and returned to his original position. Many sweat dropped at the way the two acted like nothing had just happened.

Time went by quite slowly after that, having to sign a form that would make it impossible for Konoha to be sued or declared war upon as a result of a foreign Shinobi's death in this part of the exam. After that they were each directed to an entrance to the forest in preparation for it to open.

As soon as it opened Naruto shot forwards and instantly channelled Chakra to his nose, ears and eyes. This further enhanced the three corresponding senses allowing him to see, hear and smell better.

 _'Kurama where's the nearest team?'_ Coming to a stop on a branch, Naruto gripped the blade of his Tantō in preparation of an attack that may never come.

 **"I've got three possible locations."** Naruto allowed Kurama to further pinpoint their locations and put a lock on the Chakra signatures. **"There is one to your left about a few minutes away. It's going further and further away from you directly towards another team. They're going to meet. There is also another team that is coming directly for us. They will be hear in exactly five, four, three, two and one."**

Naruto expected an attack straight away, to his shock the Genin team landed in the clearing below him. It was stupid and an amateur mistake, but then again fighting Konoha Shinobi in the trees was even more foolish. Konoha Shinobi excelled at combat in the trees.

Running through a set of hand seals, he took a deep breath. _"Katon: Haisekishō (Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning)."_ It was one of his favourite Jutsu as it had two separate uses, the ash could explode with the flint or it could suffocate the victim as it got into their lungs.

Ash descended upon the group of Genin and each of them began coughing to free their lungs from it. However, soon one of the Genin dropped as the ash solidified in their lungs choking him to death. The other Genin also tried to rush out, but the ash had spread too far and they to collapsed to the ground.

Naruto took a calming breath and dropped to the ground, thankful that he had put a seal that only allowed Oxygen and nothing else to pass through the fabric. It was perfect when using the Jutsu he had just used.

Two clones formed and checked the other two Genin for their scroll and to his disappointment, he got another Earth scroll which he then sealed away.

 _'Kurama?_ '

 **"The two teams are still fighting, but I suggest you hurry up as they've nearly finished."** Nodding his head, Naruto shot forwards and soon found himself looking upon a Konoha team fighting against a team from Kusa. The Kusa Shinobi were already finished and the Konoha team were collecting the scroll. One person stood out the most to him and that was the Kabuto fellow.

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto slinked back into the shadows just as Kabuto turned to face the place he once stood in. He would allow Kabuto to continue on in the Chūnin exams until he proved himself a spy, that didn't mean he wouldn't inform the Hokage on him being a possible spy.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Three hours, that's how long he had been in the Forest of Death and in that time Naruto had run across six teams. Two of which had no scroll and tried to take his. He beat them easily. Another had been a Konoha team and he allowed them to go. Then there was a team from Oto and a team from Suna which both had an Earth scroll. He beat them and took their scrolls. It had only been the last team, one from Ame that had a Heaven scroll and now Naruto was making his way towards the tower.

 **"Kit, I'm sensing a very potent Chakra North-East of you. I can also sense the Uchiha's Chakra as well."** Kurama informed him.

 _'Since when did you care about the Uchiha?'_ Kurama growled in anger and Naruto chuckled at the fox.

 **"I could care less about the damn Uchiha, but whoever the Uchiha is fighting it's someone who shouldn't be in these exams and I doubt you would let someone like that mess with it or anyone from Konoha."** There was a pause as Naruto adjusted his direction and went in the direction Kurama told him. **"Besides, these exams have been boring so far and I want to see some proper action."**

Shaking his head in amusement, Naruto landed on a branch and watched as one individual extended his neck and bit into the neck of the Uchiha. He couldn't see what it did, but by the way Sasuke went unconscious as a result of pain it was obviously not good.

"Kukukuku, you can come out now Naruto-kun." Naruto shivered at the way his name was said. Still, he did as the Shinobi wanted and revealed himself and the Shinobi in turn turned to face him, revealing Orochimaru. Clenching his fists tightly, Naruto gripped the handle of his Tantō at seeing the person who betrayed Konoha and orchestrated the death of Shisui.

"Orochimaru." Naruto growled and some of his Chakra seeped out cracking the branch he was on.

"Kukukuku, Jiraiya-kun sure does know how to pick out the diamonds in the rough." Orochimaru gave a soul chillingly, creepy smile. "Oh, you look angry. Is it because I killed Shisui-kun?"

 **"Don't you dare speak his name! You don't have the right!"** Naruto roared as he allowed Kurama's Chakra to course through his body.

"Oh, so I'm not allowed to say, Shi-su-i." That did it for Naruto as the branch he was on splintered and he shot forward in a blur of speed. Orochimaru bent his body at an odd angle as Naruto's Tantō sliced through air. Naruto wasn't done as he spun round and brought his raised foot down for an axe kick. It struck and Orochimaru struck the branch only for him to break apart into mud.

 _'Shit!_ Doton: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Earth Style: Shadow Clone Technique) _!"_ Naruto felt the air disperse behind him and looked behind him to see a leg swinging around towards him. He was unable to even to guard against the strike and so it collided against his face with such force that he was launched into another tree.

Spinning around in mid-air, he planted his feet on the bark before pushing off straight towards Orochimaru once more. This is what Sannin expected as he jumped in the air and lashed out with a spinning hook kick. Due to his mind been clouded with anger, Naruto was unable to do anything except take the kick and get launched in a different example.

"Ara, ara I am so disappointed Naruto-kun." Orochimaru smirked as he placed one hand on his hip. "I expected so much more from you. Yet you are so easily angered." Growling, Naruto got to his feet and wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "I guess we can't expect much from anyone these days."

 **"You want to see something special?"** Naruto summoned five clones and each of them ran through a set of hand seals. **_"Katon: Kary_** ** _ū_** ** _Endan (Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)/F_** ** _ū_** ** _ton: F_** ** _ū_** ** _ry_** ** _ū_** ** _dan no Jutsu (Wind Style: Wind Dragon Bullet Technique)/Suiton: Suiry_** ** _ū_** ** _dan (Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)/Raiton: Rairy_** ** _ū_** ** _dan (Lightning Style: Lightning Dragon Bullet Technique)/Doton: Dory_** ** _ū_** ** _dan (Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet)!"_**

A dragon of each element shot towards Orochimaru who raised his eyebrow in surprise. Smirking, Orochimaru allowed his body to fall off the branch he was on completely avoiding the attack.

While he escaped unharmed, the tree did not and was split in half as a result of Naruto's combination attack.

As he landed on the ground, Orochimaru smiled. Inwardly however, he was seething. _'Damn Ky_ _ū_ _bi brat. Now the Ch_ _ū_ _nin will be rushing to his area as we speak to see what happened.'_ Sighing, Orochimaru felt the oppressive aura of the Kyūbi Jinchūriki rushing towards him. Instead of trying to block the strike, he let himself be hit and when he did he turned into mud.

Naruto landed and growled angrily. **"Calm down kit."** Kyūbi ordered and with it Naruto felt Kurama's Chakra leave him. Instantly he felt much calmer, but he was still filled with anger. **"God damn it brat, calm the fuck the down before you do some more stupid shit."**

Taking a deep breath, Naruto went on to one knee and allowed his breathing to even out. Once he was done, he looked around the clearing to see that Orochimaru had left along with Kakashi's Genin team. With it, Naruto left towards the tower. Unwilling to stay in the area in which he had suffered a humiliating defeat.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

After the battle against Orochimaru, Naruto spent the remainder of the time holed up in the room provided for him in the tower. His humiliating defeat at the hands of the Snake Sannin left a bad taste in his mouth and so, he spent the entire time meditating in hopes of stopping himself from been driven into a blind rage once more.

A knock at the door alerted Naruto to someone outside waiting for him. Whoever it was, didn't wait for him to answer as the door opened revealing Kakashi.

"Yo, Hokage-sama is asking for all the Genin to meet in the main auditorium." Nodding his head, Naruto stood up and followed after his older brother figure. While neither had talked about what had happened between him and Orochimaru, Naruto knew that Kakashi was worried for him. It made him happy to know that Kakashi cared for him.

Once the two entered the auditorium, the Genin all lined up and faced towards the Hokage. Naruto just caught a glimpse of a grumbling Ibiki handing over a large roll of money to a grinning Anko before he turned to see who else had made it. There was the Rookie teams, Lee's team, a team from Kumo, Oto and as he suspected, the Ichibi's Jinchūriki's team had made it through. Kabuto's team had also made it through though it hardly mattered to him.

It was only when a sickly cough made him turn to face the Jonin that stood before them did he realise that he had missed the Hokage's speech.

"My name is Gekkō Hayate and I am the judge of this exam. However, before we begin the third exam there will be a set of preliminary matches, the winner of these matches progress onto the Third Exam." Throughout his speech, he would occasionally break down into a coughing fit to further prove that his sickly appearance wasn't just for show.

"Why can't we all just move onto the Third Exam?!" Exclaimed Kiba in shock.

"As the Hokage said previously, there will be multiple dignitaries who will come down to watch the matches. Due to the amount of you who passed, we can't have you all fighting as we only have a small time space to work with, therefore the preliminary matches will only allow those capable to pass through." Gekkō informed them and Naruto nodded his head in agreement with this.

The Chūnin Exams had a secondary purpose besides providing Shinobi the chance to gain a promotion, they also promoted the village as a whole. It would not do to have weak Shinobi who only made it this far because of their teammates (*cough* Sakura *cough*) and have them waste the time of the dignitaries as it would reflect badly on the village as a whole. Therefore the preliminaries would only allow those that had some measure of skill to pass through.

"That matters little, but if you wish to leave then you may do so." Gekkō waved his hand towards the door as extra proof of his claim and once again Naruto found that he had missed something due to his mind wandering.

Naruto turned to face Sasuke and Sakura to see the two whispering heatedly. His enhanced hearing managed to pick out what was being said.

 **"Trust the Uchiha to not know when to quit."** Following this was a few more 'colourful' word choices from his Bijū as he bitched about the Uchiha, a common thing.

"Proctor, I wish to withdraw." Kabuto replied, the proctor nodded his head though his eyes had narrowed in suspicion at the fact that Kabuto looked as good as new. Something which many other Shinobi picked up on, but chose not to comment.

"Does anybody else wish to quit?" He waited for a few moments as no one else raised their hands. "Very well, now we shall see who shall be in the first match." They turned to a screen and watched as multiple names flashed on before it stuck on two.

 _Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi Akad_ _ō_ _._

"Will everyone else please make their way towards the balcony and wait until you are called down for your match." Naruto moved up towards the balcony and leaned against the railing as he watched Sasuke and Yoroi fall into their own stances and wait for the proctor to call the match.

"Hello, Naruto-kun." Looking to the left, Naruto smiled as he saw Yugito walked towards him with a smile on her face.

"Yo, Yugito-chan." He gave a lazy wave as Yugito stood beside him and looked down as Sasuke and Yoroi began the match. While surprised that Yoroi had the ability to steal Chakra, they showed very little interest as the rest of the match was pretty much Sasuke avoiding Yoroi. "How come you're here anyway, I didn't know you took on a Genin team."

Yugito smiled. "Yea, Bee-san wished for me to take on his Genin team because if he turned up it could be taken as a declaration of war." Naruto nodded his head in understanding at what she was trying to say. In the eyes of Konoha, Yugito was too weak to pose any real problem to their higher tier Shinobi. "So I kept it secret and decided to surprise you."

"Well, you surprised me alright." Naruto replied gaining a small giggle from Yugito. "Anyone on your team I should be worried about?" Yugito gave him a raised eyebrow and placed one hand on her hip.

"You're cute Naruto-kun, but not that cute." Laughing, Naruto nodded his head and turned back as he watched the ending of the fight.

"It was worth a try." Yugito nodded her head in amusement. Neither noticed the sly smile forming on Kakashi's face as he watched his little brother talk to a girl. It took all his self-restraint to not go over and thoroughly embarrass him however, he would wait to later on. Wait till his little brother had his guard down and then he would strike.

 _Zaku Abumi vs Shino Aburame._

"Who do you think will win this one?" Yugito asked and Naruto hummed as he judged the two fighters. From what he could see, Zaku had only one functional arm, but Shino had both plus his clans techniques.

"Shino, there's no doubt."

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

"Hajime." Gekkō jumped backwards and instantly the two Genin went into action. Shino raised both hands and from his sleeves a large swarm of bugs shot forwards straight towards Zaku. The Oto shinobi gasped in shock and quickly swung his functional arm.

 _"Zank_ _ū_ _ha (Decapitating Airwaves)!"_ A blast shot forwards and shot straight towards the bug, but all they did was break apart and avoided the blast completely. The blast continued straight towards Shino however, as soon as it struck he dissolved into bugs that joined their attack against Zaku.

After firing off a few more of the same techniques, Zaku felt himself getting more and more tired. It got to the point where his breath became laboured. Hearing a buzzing noise, Zaku turned around to see a new swarm of bugs flying towards him.

Growling, he pulled his injured arm free from its sling and then thrust them forwards. _"Zank_ _ū_ _yokuha (Extreme Decapitating Airwaves)!"_ However, to the shock of them all watching, Zaku's arms exploded in a shower of blood and gore. Screaming, Zaku collapsed to the ground as he stared wide-eyed at the stomps that used to once be his hand.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

"See." Yugito nodded her head as she acknowledged Naruto's prediction.

"It was really smart of him to clog up the airways in his arm tube thingy with his bugs." It was Naruto that nodded in agreement this time. "Very Shinobi like." They watched as the screen flashed through more names until it stopped on the next two.

The two stood, occasionally sharing a few barbs and laughs as the matches progressed. So far, Kankurō had been the only one besides Shino to pass. Naruto had found it especially amusing when watching Ino and Sakura fight. There had been quite a large range of vulgar language released from her mouth all the while she complained about how they were a disgrace to Kunoichi.

 _Tenten Higurashi vs Temari._

"These two will prove that not all Kunoichi are hopeless fangirls like the last two." Yugito crossed her arms over her chest in a huff, she was still frustrated with how the Kunoichi were presented as a whole in the last match.

"They better." Smirking, Naruto turned back to the match. As soon as the match began it was obvious who the victor was. While both Kunoichi were skilled in their own respective arts, Tenten was pitted against a wind user who simply knocked all her weapons off course. "Seems you were right, though I do feel sorry for Tenten, she could have probably done really well if only she hadn't been paired with her worst matchup."

"Yea. From what I've heard from her teammate, Lee." He gave a wave of his hand towards the green spandex wearing individual and Yugito tried to restrain her laughter. "Apparently her skills lies in all things weapons."

"Ah I see." Yugito nodded her head. "Then she really did have the worst of luck, to go up against a wind user that simply only has to swing her fan to knock all your weapons off course." Naruto turned back to the arena and felt his eyes narrow as he remembered how Temari had finished the match.

"The ending was uncalled for and arrogant." Yugito regarded him curiously before shrugging her shoulders. While she wouldn't admit it, she knew that Naruto was right, but also wrong. Konoha had always been known as the strongest Shinobi village and they had all become a little arrogant because of it. To see a Shinobi from Suna, the weakest of the Big Five beat a Konoha Shinobi was deserved and long overdue in her opinion.

"True, but we are Shinobi." Grunting, Naruto turned to the screen and read the next two names.

 _Shikamaru Nara vs kin Tsuchi._

The fight was one that everyone expected. Kin was arrogant and instantly went on the offensive expecting this to be an easy victory on her part. What she didn't know, was the fact that she had been dancing to Shikamaru's tone since the match started. Despite his lazy and lack sidle appearance, Shikamaru's mind was going through plan after plan to find the best possible way to end the fight.

Both Naruto and Yugito had been impressed along with most of the Jonin Sensei's watching at the tactical genius of the Nara. Though, they expected nothing less as the clan had become infamous for their ability to strategies.

 _Kiba Inuzuka vs Karui._

"Isn't that one of your team?" Yugito nodded her head as she leaned further forwards as she watched Karui and Kiba take their starting positions.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

"Hajime." Gekkō jumped backwards as Karui instantly drew her katana and got into a ready positon. Kiba meanwhile, arrogantly stood with his hands in his coat pocket as Akamaru stood beside him.

"You sit there, Akamaru. This won't take long." He boasted as he got into the Inuzuka Taijutsu stance. Karui on the other hand grit her teeth in anger at the arrogance of the Konoha Shinobi.

"You think just because you're a Konoha Shinobi that you can win this easily!" She shouted angrily as Kiba gave her a cocky smirk. He dropped onto all fours as Chakra wafted off his form.

"No. You're just a girl and I'm an alpha." With a shout of anger, Karui charged forward, her earlier plan of waiting for Kiba to make the first move forgotten.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Yugito face palmed and groaned in annoyance. "Dammit Karui. We talked about this." Pulling her hand away from her face, Yugito directed an annoyed glare towards the chuckling Naruto. "What?! It was plainly obvious he was baiting her."

"I doubt it." Naruto replied.

"Wait, you mean?"

"Yep, Kiba's just sexiest. At least that's what I've heard." Hearing this, Yugito directed a glare towards Kiba, righteous feminine fury burning furiously in her eyes. Many men took a fearful step away from every woman near them as they all directed their glares down at Kiba.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Kiba smirked as his fingers and canines changed into claws and fangs respectively. _"Shikyaku no Jutsu (Four Legs Technique)!"_ With that said, Kiba shot forwards at great speeds and landed a solid kick to Karui's chest flinging her backwards. "You can't beat me with this Jutsu active, you might as well give up." He boasted once more as Karui rose to her feet and got into a ready stance.

Seeing this, Kiba shot forwards once more, but this time Karui was prepared for him. _"Kumo-Ry_ _ū Omotegiri (_ _Cloud-Style Front Beheading)!"_ Gasping, Kiba applied Chakra to his feet instantly stopping his movements before jumping backwards, it wasn't quick enough as his jacket was cut.

"That's it, Akamaru!" He growled out as Akamaru landed on his back. Expelling Chakra outwards, he called out his next technique. _"J_ _ū_ _jin Bunshin (Beast Human Clone)!"_ Before their very eyes, Akamaru turned into an equally feral looking Kiba. _"Gats_ _ū_ _ga (Fang Passing Fang)!"_ Both Shinobi and ninken spun at great speeds till they looked like drills as they flew towards Karui.

The Kumo Kunoichi managed to avoid both by mere inches as she skidded across the floor. Getting into a crouch, she embedded her blade into the floor and ran through a quick set of hand seals. _"Raiton: Raiky_ _ū_ _(Lightning Style: Lightning Ball)!"_

As a result of this technique, around five balls of lighting formed and waited in front of her. Then, as soon as the first drill got close to her she allowed the balls of lightning to rush towards it. Instantly, the drill dissipated revealing the limp form of Akamaru with lightning occasionally flashing to life around him.

"Akamaru!" Kiba shouted out in shock as he rushed towards his downed partner. He had made a fatal mistake, he had forgotten about his opponent and it cost him as Karui decked him across the face sending him collapsing to a heap on the ground.

Growling, Kiba went to stand up and attack the Kunoichi though he stopped when he found the cold tip of Karui's blade pressing against his throat. "Try it. I dare you." She taunted before he conceded defeat.

With her victory accomplish, Karui sheathed her blade and confidently strode towards her teammates. As she passed Naruto she gave him a challenging stare before continuing on. Naruto followed her with his gaze before he found himself staring into the cold blue eyes of her teammate. He returned the stare, but she broke the staring contest first as she stared down at the arena.

The fight between the two Hyūga cousins was interesting to say the least. Both were very skilled in their family arts and both kept a calm mind-set throughout however, the greater fighting experience of the older Hyūga eventually allowed him to emerge as victor. Though there had been altercation at the end when the male Hyūga tried to kill his cousin. Thankfully, the Jonin managed to interfere before any more damage could be done.

"That was unnecessarily cruel." Yugito spoke up with a glare directed at Neji.

"I know. I may not like the Hyūga as they are all a bunch of arrogant pricks with a pole shoved up their asses, but trying to kill your own family is just not acceptable." Naruto agreed with her sentiment. "If I fight him in the Third part of the Exams, I'm gonna rip that pole out of his ass and beat him with it." Yugito laughed at that and turned back to the arena as the next fight commenced.

It was a back and forth fight throughout. Lee used his superior speed to avoid Gaara's sand will retaliating with his own strikes that did no damage. Gaara on the other hand was unable to do anything as Lee kept avoiding his attacks, but lucky for him his sand stopped Lee from getting to him.

Things changed however, when Lee got rid of his weights and launched a second wave of attacks. At first things continued like before, but then Lee managed to outpace Gaara's sand and finally connected with a punch.

Gaara won eventually, but it was not without damage on his part. One thing Naruto very informative about the fight was the depth of Gaara's abilities. They were quite worrying, his control over sand was great and Naruto knew that if Gaara fought a battle in a desert he would be unstoppable. Lucky for him, Gaara didn't have that advantage.

 _Samui vs Sai._

The two combatants came onto the field and Naruto could tell instantly who was going to win. Samui had a certain confident air around her, not arrogance, but confidence in her abilities. It was obvious to him that by her muscle definition and the way she held herself that Samui was easily Chūnin level in strength. Hell, she could probably give him a good fight.

"I'll tell you one thing, Naruto-kun." Turning to face his fellow Jinchūriki, he waited for her to elaborate. "Samui is my equal in everything from Taijutsu to Ninjutsu. The only reason I win is because of my Bijū. She may not have as much Chakra is I do, but her control is almost perfect and she uses it much more wisely than I ever could."

"I thought I wasn't cute enough for information on your team." Yugito smiled as her words were spoken back to her.

"I may have lied, but the information I gave you is something anyone could figure out after watching her fight." Nodding his head, Naruto turned back to the fight with renewed interest.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

As soon as the match began, Samui was instantly on the offensive. To the Genin, her speed was almost similar to that of Lee's with his weights on as she disappeared and reappeared in front of Sai.

Wide-eyed at the display of speed, Sai managed to raise a hastily made guard that blocked the strike. Though the force behind it sent him skidding backwards slightly. Samui followed after him, but he was ready for her and parried her strike before lashing out with one of his own. Samui caught the strike and lashed out with a front kick to his stomach which was avoided by Sai stepping to the side.

Both opponents jumped backwards before rushing towards each other once more. Samui was mainly on the offensive as Sai dodged her strikes while parrying those he could not. Occasionally he would capitalise on an opening presented to him, but Samui would block and then lash out with greater ferocity.

Jumping over a low sweep, Sai threw his leg out in hopes of kicking her in the head. To avoid this, Samui rolled forwards before performing a flawless spinning hook kick that Sai dodged through the use of a back hand spring.

With a poof of smoke, a bottle appeared in Sai's hand as he allowed its contents to pour onto the floor. It was revealed to be ink much to the confusion of those watching.

 _"Sumi Nagashi (Ink Flush)."_ He whispered as the ink changed into snakes that rushed towards Samui.

The blonde Kumo Kunoichi jumped backwards as she pulled out multiple Shuriken. With a flick of her hands the deadly projectiles collided with the snakes turning them into ink once more as Samui drew her Tantō and rushed forwards to engage Sai who drew his own blade and met her charge.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Naruto turned towards the grinning Yugito and shook his head in amusement. He too was enjoying this fight and his blood was pumping as he thought of fighting Samui. She was smart and powerful and he could tell that what he was seeing was only the beginning.

"You were right." Yugito gave him a cocky grin and turned back to the fight as the two engaged in a clash of steel. Sparks came from their blades every time they connected as the tow rushed around the arena. It was obvious though, to anyone with knowledge on Kenjutsu that Samui was by far the more skilled. It didn't hurt that she much faster and stronger than Sai also.

His smirk returned as he watched the fight intently. His eyes followed Samui as he studied her fighting style. If he was to fight her in the Third Exam then he would have to know as much about her as he could. Otherwise he would be on the back foot.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Sai grunted as he felt his arm nearly buckle under the power behind Samui's swing. Each time she took a slashed and hacked at him, Sai would be forced to constantly step backwards to avoid fatal injury. _'She is very skilled.'_ Sai analysed the situation. _'Danzo-sama will wish to know of her strength as to plan accordingly.'_

Parrying one strike, he lashed out with a back kick to her stomach before leaping backwards. In his hands he now held a scroll and a brush. To the shock of those watching, his hand blurred over the paper.

 _"Ch_ _ō_ _j_ _ū Giga (Super Beast Imitating Drawing)."_ From the scroll, multiple Tomoe lion heads shot towards Samui. In retaliation, Samui threw multiple kunai with explosive tags wrapped around the handles. They collided with the floor directly where the beasts were passing and a few landed around Sai.

 _"Kai (Release)."_ The explosive seals glowed shortly before exploding. At the same time, Sai jumped backwards, but braced himself just in case he was caught in the blast. Luckily, it was nothing except a dud.

Hearing footsteps, he turned around and saw Samui rushing towards him and with a quick push off the wall, he wrapped his arm around her neck and put her into a chokehold. To his surprise, Samui smirked before her form collapsed in on its self. _'A clone?!'_ Lightning coursed through his body as a second Samui shot towards his limp form. Before he could do anything, he felt something hit him in the back of the neck and everything went dark.

"Winner, Samui of Kumogakure." Hayate pronounced. "Will Dosu Kinuta and Chōji Akimichi come down to the floor." Once the two combats came down, Gekkō announced the beginning of the match.

 **-X- Line Break -x-**

"Well done, Samui-chan." Yugito congratulated the busty blonde Kumo Kunoichi. A small smile formed on her face at the praise given to her.

"Thank you, Yugito." She then turned to Naruto. "I hope to see you in the finals, Uzumaki-san." Naruto smirked and nodded his head. "You're up." Looking towards the screen he saw his name along with Samui's teammate's name, Omoi.

"It seems I am. Wish me luck?" He cheekily asked Yugito.

"I was under the impression you didn't need luck." Yugito replied gaining a laugh from Naruto as he jumped down to the arena floor.

"He's interesting." Samui said as she studied Naruto's form. "I never talked to him when he came to Kumo." Yugito narrowed her eyes as she felt annoyed at how Samui's gaze continued to linger on Naruto's form more than she liked.

"You didn't talk to him now." Her voice was also a little too harsh, something Samui picked up on if her confused gaze was anything to go by. That soon turned into amusement as another smile formed on her face, this time larger.

"No you're right. Perhaps I should fix that." Yugito's eyes narrowed even further as her grip on the railing tightened. Samui smirked and turned back to face the match that had just begun. She would have so much fun teasing her usually distant friend. Though, her teasing would also be done for herself as well. Naruto Uzumaki was an incredibly interesting individual.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Omoi knew that as soon as the match started that he would have to end it quickly before Naruto could do anything. He remembered what Naruto could do when he was eleven, he could only imagine what he could do now.

That's exactly what he did.

Unsheathing his blade, Omoi shot forwards intent on finishing the match before Naruto could do anything. _"Kumo-Ryū Omotegiri (Cloud-Style Front Beheading)!"_ To counter this, Naruto raised his blade which was coated in Chakra. Omoi's strike hit the blade, but Omoi was unable to cut through the blade. Hearing movement from behind him, Omoi decided on a second move. _"Kumo-Ryū Uragiri (Cloud-Style Reverse Beheading)!"_

Jumping backwards along with his strike, he heard the tell-tale sound of a shadow clone been dispelled before he shot forwards once more.

 _"Kumo-Ryū Mikazukigiri (Cloud-Style Crescent Moon Beheading)!"_ Naruto jumped over the blade and his shin hit Omoi in the face. Grunting, Omoi stumbled backwards and tried to react as Naruto rushed towards him, but could do nothing as he felt a palm slam into his chest with such force that he was flung into the wall.

"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure." Hayate announced after the one sided battle had ended. "Will all the winners of the fights, please make their way down to the floor." There was a few moments as the winners lined up on the floor. "You will all walk forwards when your name is called and take a ball. Take note of the number and then show it to me."

Dosu came forward first. "Eleven."

Shino came out next, "Five."

"Ten." Temari said.

"Six." Samui presented her ball for the proctor to see.

"One." Kankurō pronounced.

"Eight." Neji said in his monotone voice.

Gaara came forth and took a ball. "Two." Kankurō paled as he heard this.

"Troublesome, eight." With his peace said, Shikamaru stepped back in line.

"Three." Sasuke grunted.

"Seven." Naruto showed his ball gaining a glance from Neji.

"Four." Karui replied quickly.

Gekkō nodded his head and then turned to the Hokage. "You have one month to train in preparation for the Third Exam. Spend it wisely." The Hokage warned in a deathly tone of voice. "That is all." Finished, the Hokage indicated for them to leave and the Shinobi did so without hesitation.

 **A/N: A short chapter and nowhere near as good as my other ones. I was really annoyed with the way this chapter went because no matter what I tried, nothing seemed to go the way it should do. It was only near the end of the chapter that I seemed to be able to make it flow. I promise to make the next one better.**

 **Current Harem:**

 **Samui, Kurenai, Mei, Anko and Yugito.**


End file.
